Teen gets 4 years for role in St. Paul homicide that led to ‘no-knock’ warrant at apartment where Amir Locke was shot

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
Updated ·3 min read

A teen was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for being an accomplice after the fact in the 2022 murder of Otis Elder in St. Paul, a killing that prompted Minneapolis police to carry out a “no-knock” search warrant in which Amir Locke was fatally shot by an officer.

Feysal Jama Ali, 18, of Minneapolis, pleaded guilty to the added charge in December in connection with the killing of Elder, a 38-year-old who was shot during a suspected marijuana robbery or attempted robbery on Jan. 10, 2022. Elder, a father of two sons, died a half-hour later at Regions Hospital of a gunshot wound to the back.

In exchange for the plea, two counts of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and two other charges in the case were dismissed and he also was given a concurrent three-year prison term for a second-degree assault conviction stemming from a carjacking in South Minneapolis in November 2021.

Also part of the plea deal were the lengths of the two prison terms. Ali received credit for the two years and six days he already served in custody.

Ali confirmed that his cousin, Mekhi Camden Speed, then 17, shot Elder as he sat in his Chevrolet Tahoe in the 500 block of North Prior Avenue, between University Avenue and Interstate 94. Ali, who was 16, also gave an account of his actions after the murder, including spraying a fire extinguisher inside in a stolen getaway car in an attempt to conceal evidence.

In July, Speed was sentenced to 16 years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder while committing an armed robbery. Speed said at his plea hearing that he went to the location to buy marijuana from Elder and that the plan changed to taking it.

Speed lived in the apartment building in downtown Minneapolis where police served search warrants on Feb. 2, 2022. Locke, 22, was not named in the search warrants and was staying on a couch in Speed’s brother’s girlfriend’s apartment when police carried out a no-knock warrant and a Minneapolis officer shot him.

Speed lived in a different unit with his mother, but had access to the other apartment, according to the criminal complaint.

Minneapolis police requested a no-knock warrant to apprehend Speed for the officers’ safety and preservation of evidence. The request for the warrant demonstrated that Speed had a history of violence and that Elder was killed with a .223-caliber firearm, which could pierce body armor.

Police body camera video showed that when police entered the apartment, announcing their presence, Locke, who was not a suspect, was stirred from the couch and emerged from under a blanket with a handgun that his family said he legally owned.

Prosecutors did not charge the officer, saying body camera video showed Locke pointing a gun, but his family has said the footage suggests he was startled awake.

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