Tragedy struck the Minnesota city of St. Cloud on April 21st when a 16-year-old named Israel Muyaya Madimba stole a vehicle and then, while on a joyride in it and listening to a song about murder, ran over and killed a 61-year-old pedestrian, Norbert Olmscheid. Madimba stole the vehicle from the YMCA after finding the keys in a locker.
In a press release about the horrific attack released on April 22nd, the City of St. Cloud Police Department said:
On 4/21/2023 Officers responded to a call of a vehicle striking a pedestrian. Officers arrived on scene and located a 70-year-old male victim from St. Cloud who was unresponsive. The male had been walking on a walking path prior to being struck by a vehicle driven by a 16-year-old male from Sauk Rapids. Officers performed life-saving measures on the victim. The victim was ultimately transported to the hospital where he later died.
The driver of the vehicle ran from the scene but was ultimately taken into custody by officers. Investigation revealed the suspect had stolen a vehicle blocks away from the scene of the crash. A short time after stealing the vehicle, the driver saw a person, not known to him, on a walking path between 9th Avenue and 6th Avenue North. The suspect admitted he drove on the walking path and intentionally struck the victim. The exact motive is still under investigation.
The juvenile was transported to the Stearns County jail and later transported to a secure juvenile detention center where he is being held on charges related to 2nd Degree Murder.
— SCPD (@StCloudPDMN) April 24, 2023
The preliminary charges brought against Madimba include both a 1st-degree premeditated murder charge and a 2nd-degree murder with intent but not premeditated charge. A grand jury will be convened to determine whether the 1st-degree murder charge is warranted.
Madimba made his first court appearance on Monday, April 24th. During that hearing, the judge set his bail at $1 million with conditions or $2 million without conditions. His next hearing is scheduled for May 8.
The attack is, on its face, similar to the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack, where Darrell Brooks, black, plowed an SUV into a crowd of white people, killing six people and wounding dozens. CNN, reporting on Brooks’ sentencing, said:
In a clean sweep for the prosecution, a jury found Brooks, 40, guilty last month on all 76 counts stemming from the attack, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon.
Following two days of statements from victims and family members, Judge Jennifer Dorow imposed the mandated sentence, ordering Brooks to serve a life sentence without the possibility of extended supervision for each of the first-degree homicide counts. The sentences will run consecutively, she said.
Dorow also imposed sentences totaling hundreds of years for the remaining 70 counts on which he was found guilty. She sentenced Brooks to 17½ years for each of the 61 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with the use of a dangerous weapon.
“You have absolutely no remorse for anything that you do. You have no empathy for anyone,” Dorow said. “Frankly, Mr. Brooks, no one is safe from you.”
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