Man Convicted of Killing Woman Caught in Gang Gunfire

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A Minneapolis man has been convicted in the shooting death of a grandmother struck by bullets intended for a gang member.

A Hennepin County jury on Wednesday found 21-year-old Joshua Ezeka guilty of premeditated first-degree murder and four other charges. The first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Fifty-eight-year-old Birdell Beeks was killed in May of 2016 while running errands with her 16-year-old granddaughter in north Minneapolis.

According to the complaint, Ezeka was told a rival gang member was nearby and started shooting toward that gang member's car. Some bullets struck the rival gang member's car and others struck Beeks' car.

Prosecutors said it didn't matter whether Ezeka meant to kill Beeks, only that he intended to kill someone that day.