Minn. Realtor Killed by Suspect Accused of 'Setting a Trap' Before Shooting Her in Alley
Police in Minnesota have charged a man with murder for allegedly killing a 28-year-old mother-of-two, who was shot in the face in a Minneapolis alley on New Year’s Eve.
Monique Baugh, a respected realtor, was found dead — shot three times — in an alley in the Willard-Hay section of the city.
Officers were dispatched to the area after a gunshot detection system alerted them to three gunshots.
Cedric Berry, 41, was charged Monday with murder in connection with her death. Berry is also charged with attempted murder in connection with the shooting earlier that day of Baugh’s boyfriend, an area rapper known as Momoh.
According to the criminal complaint against Berry obtained by PEOPLE, Momoh was attacked an hour before Baugh was lured into the alley where she was killed.
She was found with her hands bound with tape, police said.
The complaint alleges Berry, wearing a black mask with two eye holes, entered the home Baugh and Momoh shared with their two daughters at about 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2019.
According to the complaint, the children — who are 1 and 3 — were both in the home with Momoh when Berry allegedly opened fire, shooting the rapper several times before fleeing.
Momoh called police, who responded to the home, finding him on the floor of his bedroom covered in blood, surrounded by his two children. He is expected to recover from his injuries, police said.
The complaint states that, when they last spoke, Baugh told Momoh she had a house to show a prospective client.
“Investigators were aware that [Momoh] had recently signed a contract to record rap music and had been flaunting his cash on social media,” the complaint reads. [Momoh] indicated that numerous individuals knew that he was involved with [Baugh], but he did not believe that anyone who wanted to harm him knew where they lived.”
The complaint does not specify a motive for the violence.
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Berry is being held on $2 million bond. He is due in court Tuesday, at which point he may be asked to enter pleas to the charges he faces.
In addition to murder and attempted murder, Berry is charged with kidnapping.
According to prosecutors, surveillance video allegedly shows him forcing Baugh into the back of a U-Haul van the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2019.
The same vehicle was seen at the scene of the first shooting, police said.
When officers arrested Berry, they found the black mask Momoh had described in his recollection of the first shooting.
The Star-Tribune reports that Berry has past convictions for manslaughter, drug dealing, drug possession, aggravated robbery, illegal weapons possession and fleeing police.
It was unclear Tuesday who is attorney is.
