Woman charged for alleged role in deadly Minneapolis shooting

A woman has been arrested and charged on suspicion of handing a gun over to a man who subsequently shot and killed a victim in south Minneapolis.

Samantha Barth, 37, of Minneapolis, is charged with one count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and one count of aiding an offender in connection with the Feb. 5 death of 27-year-old Marcellus Strickland.

According to a criminal complaint, Barth and the alleged shooter were with a group of people that night, including the mother of Strickland’s child, who told police she had been receiving several threatening messages from Strickland. Not long after the group went to the mother’s apartment, Strickland busted through the door, yelled for everyone to leave and punched the TV. He then reportedly grabbed the mother by the hair and threw her on the couch.

Another witness said Barth then pulled a handgun from her purse and handed it over to the co-defendant, who then fired three shots toward Strickland. One bullet missed and struck the window, but the next two hit Strickland.

Police were called to the home on the 3800 block of Grand Avenue South around 3 a.m., and the victim was found unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital but died a short time later.

Barth was arrested on Feb. 8, and she remains in custody. She told investigators she was drunk at the time of the shooting but could not remember who pulled the trigger.

A judge set Barth’s bail at $500,000 without conditions or $200,000 with conditions. Her first court appearance was on Friday, and she has an omnibus hearing set for March 9.

The alleged shooter has not been arrested, and no formal charges have been filed against him.