Man gets probation in Minneapolis gun battle that killed off-duty Eagan firefighter

A Columbia Heights man was given two years of probation Thursday after pleading guilty to a gun charge in connection with the Minneapolis fatal shooting of an off-duty Eagan and Eden Prairie firefighter who was caught in the cross fire between two groups that exchanged more than 60 rounds of gunfire.

Dallas Antonio Villarreal-Griffin, 27, pleaded guilty in Hennepin County District Court to a lesser charge of carrying a pistol without a permit, a gross misdemeanor, for his role in the May 5 shooting of 40-year-old Joseph Charles Johns behind the former Whiskey Junction bar in the 900 block of Cedar Avenue South.

Based on a witness account, Johns was directing traffic when the gunfight erupted, catching him in the cross fire, the charges say. He was shot once by a bullet fired from a 9-mm handgun, hitting him in the chest.

Johns was a full-time firefighter with Eagan since 2020. He was also a duty call firefighter part time in Eden Prairie, where he lived, since 2015.

He was remembered by his colleagues as a kind, caring, positive and charismatic man who had a “service before self” mentality.

Villarreal-Griffin had been charged with felony aiding and abetting first-degree riot resulting in death, but prosecutors added the gun charge as part of Thursday’s plea agreement. He was then sentenced to a 364-day jail term, which was stayed for two years.

Villarreal-Griffin, who was shot in the leg during the gun battle and hospitalized, admitted to police that he fired a 9-mm gun into a group, the May 17 criminal complaint says.

A county prosecutor said last month at the sentencing of a second shooter — Marquise Trevone Hammonds-Ford — that police have not found the person who fired the 9-mm shot that killed Johns.

People had gathered that night near the former Whiskey Junction bar to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of a motorcycle club.

Just before 12:30 a.m., Hammonds-Ford, a member of the “Young N’ Thuggin” street gang of North Minneapolis, pulled out a 10-mm handgun modified into an automatic weapon, waved it around and taunted another group of gun-toting men on the other side of the street. He then fired the gun in the air toward the parking lot.

Officers who arrived on scene were directed to Johns, who was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center less than an hour later.

Officers collected 63 discharged cartridge casings, which were found in clusters on both sides of the street in front of the bar.

Forensic testing showed that shots were fired by seven guns: six 9-mm firearms and one 10-mm firearm.

Evidence, including video surveillance, showed that Johns was shot as two groups exchanged gunfire from opposite sides of the street.

When the shooting stopped, Hammonds-Ford and others sped off and dropped off Villarreal-Griffin at HCMC.

Hammonds-Ford, 29, of Monticello, also was charged with aiding and abetting first-degree riot resulting in death, but pleaded guilty to the lesser gun possession charge last month after reaching an agreement with the prosecution. He was sentenced Oct. 9 to 6½ years in prison, which was part of terms of the agreement.