Arrest made in connection with weekend homicide in Sioux Falls

A Sioux Falls man has been arrested in connection with a homicide that occurred early Sunday morning, and the victim's name has also been released.

38-year-old Edward Leon Brinkley was arrested around 7:30 p.m. Monday and is being charged with second degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Lieutenant Aaron Nyberg said.

Brinkley is being held in the Minnehaha County Jail on a $1 million cash bond. He made his first appearance before judicial officer Andrew Robertson on Tuesday afternoon and was ordered to have no weapons, no contact with the witnesses and no contact with the victim's family.

28-year-old Richard Alexander Sowers was found in an upstairs hallway in an apartment building at 232 East 12th Street at about 2:17 a.m. March 17 with three gunshot wounds, Nyberg said. Sowers died at a hospital as a result of the gunshot wounds, according to an affidavit.

Sioux Falls Police Department officers rendered aid on Sowers until Sioux Falls Fire Rescue and paramedics arrived, and an ambulance transported him to a hospital where he later died, Nyberg said.

Witnesses and surveillance video helped identify Brinkley, Nyberg said, adding that the investigation is still ongoing and police are determining the nature of the two men's relationship and what a possible motive for the homicide may have been.

"There are still aspects that we need to follow up on, and detectives will continue to work on the case," Nyberg said.

Brinkley is currently on the South Dakota Sex Offender Registry, was convicted of simple robbery and kidnapping (both felonies) in Hennepin County, Minnesota in 2005, and was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced April 14, 2020 in Minnehaha County, according to an affidavit.

On Dec. 7, 2023 Brinkley pled not guilty to charges of driving under the influence, careless driving, illegal lane change, no drivers license and failure to maintain financial responsibility after being arrested and posting a personal recognizance bond on Nov. 22, 2023.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Arrest made in connection with weekend homicide in Sioux Falls