Star Tribune
Robbinsdale police officer testifies why he stopped Myon Burrell, searched vehicle
Myon Burrell, the Minneapolis man whose life sentence for murder was commuted in 2020, argued in court this week for the dismissal of drug and gun charges filed against him last year, saying there was no probable cause to pull him over before his car was searched leading to the discovery of the contraband.
A Robbinsdale police officer testified in Hennepin County District Court in the ongoing criminal case against Burrell, 37, charged in September with fifth-degree drug possession and illegal weapon possession following the traffic stop by officer Andrew Nordby. At the time, Nordby said Burrell was driving erratically on N. 42nd Avenue and a billow of marijuana smoke emitted from his SUV.
Nordby took the witness stand for two hours Wednesday as parties argued over the legal basis of the traffic stop and search. Dash and body-worn camera videos played in court show the officer follow Burrell’s SUV for several blocks as it touched the dotted line two or three times. The video doesn’t show a billow of smoke coming from Burrell’s car after Burrell rolled down the window upon the stop, as referenced in criminal criminal charges.
Defense attorneys Paul Applebaum and Nico Ratkowski are challenging the stop and the alleged basis for asking Burrell out of his SUV. They argue that evidence seized in the traffic stop that led to the felony charges should be suppressed because Nordby lacked probable cause.
Burrell’s life sentence was commuted by the Minnesota Board of Pardons after he served 18 years in prison. The felony murder conviction remains on his record so he’s prohibited from possessing firearms. As a teen, Burrell was charged and convicted of the 2002 killing of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards, who was struck by a stray bullet in Minneapolis. Burrell, now 37, always maintained his innocence.
Applebaum asked Nordby several times if he knew who Burrell was when he pulled him over at N. Indiana Avenue and Lake Drive on Aug. 29 around 11 a.m. Nordby said he didn’t know who Burrell was. In fact, videos show Nordby asking Burrell how to pronounce his last name.
Nordby said there was no discussion prior to the stop about Burrell in the Robbinsdale Police Department, which Nordby joined in 2020 as his first law enforcement officer job.
Nordby said the “moving violations” of the SUV touching the dotted line and going 7 mph over the posted speed limit of 30 mph concerned him, and he suspected the driver was under the influence.
Applebaum asked Nordby if he agrees that drivers who are not impaired also touch dotted lines and speed.
“I agree with that,” Nordby said.
Prosecutors from Dakota County examined Nordby on the witness stand as well. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office recused itself from the case since Burrell was a paid staffer on Mary Moriarty’s campaign team when she successfully ran in 2022 to be Hennepin County Attorney.
Dakota County Chief Deputy Attorney Cheri Townsend clarified with Nordby that he didn’t see Burrell actively smoking, but the officer did see remnants of marijuana on the console. The officer agreed.
He also acknowledged that adult use of recreational cannabis was legalized earlier that month, but it’s still against the law to smoke it in a motor vehicle.
Nordby conducted field sobriety tests with Burrell on the sidewalk and then asked to search the SUV. Burrell did not give him permission. The body camera video shows that Burrell asked to call his lawyer and Nordby said yes. Burrell stepped to the side with his phone in hand when officers grabbed him and a struggle ensued. Burrell was placed under arrest after Nordby said he thought Burrell was attempting to flee.
Ratkowski said in a statement that Nordby’s testimony and video evidence “clearly demonstrate that the officer’s claimed reasons for searching Mr. Burrell’s vehicle were fabricated. Mr. Burrell’s constitutional rights were repeatedly infringed during the stop, and we are hopeful the Court will acknowledge as much.”
Both parties will submit final written arguments in the next few months before District Judge Peter Cahill takes the case under advisement. Burrell, who remains out on $100,000 bail, returns to court in May when a decision on the stop will be issued.
A former Medtronic consultant received an 18-month prison sentence this week for his role in a scheme linked to the $1.6 billion acquisition of an Israeli medical device company in 2018.
A federal jury in February convicted Doron “Ron” Tavlin, 69, of Minneapolis, of one count of conspiracy to engage in insider trading and 10 additional counts related to securities fraud. That same jury found David Jay Gantman, 58, of Mendota Heights, not guilty of all charges against him. A third defendant — Afshin “Alex” Farahan, 57, of Los Angeles — pleaded guilty in 2022 and has yet to be sentenced.
“His crime was cynical and brazen. It was also reckless,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ebert wrote in a memo calling for a 3-year prison term. “Tavlin’s conduct had the potential to blow up a deal that a team of executives and financial advisers had been diligently negotiating for months.”
Tavlin is now scheduled to self-surrender Jan. 5 to begin his prison term, which will be followed by 320 hours of community service.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Tavlin learned about a secret, pending acquisition by Medtronic of Mazor Robotics, where he worked as vice president of business development, in 2018. Tavlin also previously worked as a consultant to the Ireland-based Medtronic, which also has a headquarters in Fridley.
Tavlin illegally tipped off Farahan, his friend, about news of the imminent acquisition and told him to keep the news secret. Farahan knew the deal would likely result in a boost to Mazor’s stock price and quickly bought more than $1 million of the company’s stock throughout August and September 2018. Medtronic announced plans to acquire Mazor, which specialized in robotics for spinal procedures, in September 2018 and the deal closed three months later.
Prosecutors said Farahan netted more than $245,000, and Gantman made $255,000 in profit by selling the securities quickly after the deal was publicized. Farahan paid Tavlin for the secret information about the pending deal — including a $25,000 kickback about a year later —according to prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank, who sentenced Tavlin Monday, also ordered Tavlin to pay a special assessment fee of $1,100 – or $100 per each count. Frank did not impose a fine.
Star Tribune
Charges detail assault in Minneapolis that led to shooting rampage, killing one in Kandiyohi County
Another friend of the ex-girlfriend arrived to help. He pulled up in a car as the group exited the apartment and Matariyeh immediately pointed a gun at him before pounding on the windshield with the gun. Everyone fled as Matariyeh ran back inside the apartment.
The two men met in a parking lot before attempting to return to the apartment. That’s when they looked up and saw Matariyeh on the balcony. Matariyeh immediately began firing multiple shots at them as they took cover behind parked cars.
It was around this time that Minneapolis police officers arrived and made contact with Matariyeh’s ex-girlfriend. She believed he was still inside the apartment, but officers later learned that he had fled. They reached him on the phone. He told officers he was going to kill innocent people if he couldn’t speak with his ex-girlfriend or see his daughter, who was at daycare at the time. He later told police negotiators that “he wanted to go out by ‘suicide by cop.’”
All the while, Matariyeh was speeding westbound.
Police officers pursued him near Cosmos in Meeker County after being alerted that Matariyeh might have stolen another vehicle at gunpoint in Carver County.
Around 2 p.m. he pulled into the rural driveway of Peter Mayerchak in Lake Lillian. Mayerchak, who was in his yard placing hay over his septic mound, went and greeted Matariyeh, who shot him in the chest.
Mixing progressive dreams with dire warnings, a group of DFL leaders riled up a group of volunteers in St. Paul on Thursday morning, urging them to push on through the day’s freezing rain and fatigue in the remaining days before the election.
Several elected officials including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar told the group of about 150 campaign staffers, volunteers and union members about how meaningful their work is to keeping DFL control of the Legislature, as the electeds start a statewide bus tour to turn out votes.
“We are here to keep our trifecta here in Minnesota,” U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar told volunteers on Thursday. “We’ve got five days, people!”
On the Republican side, House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said earlier this month that the House Republican Campaign Committee had raised a record $2.7 million ahead of the election and she said Republicans have also set records in volunteering and door-knocking as they work to break DFL control.
Minnesota Democrats hold a rally before starting a bus tour around the state to get voters excited, including Rep Ilhan Omar, Sen Amy Klobuchar, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Rep Betty McCollum and Sen Tina Smith on Thursday. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
“Republicans have the momentum and resources heading into the final stretch to win the majority and restore balance to Minnesota,” Demuth said in a statement. “Minnesotans are ready to move on from the expensive two years of Democrat one-party rule.”
House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said she thought voters preferred action to the gridlock of divided government. “They’re looking for people who can get things done,” she said.
These last-minute get-out-the-vote efforts come as Democrats around the country push to keep control of state legislative chambers and try to flip a few statehouses that Republicans hold by just a few seats.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the arm of the national Democratic party that works on statehouse races across the country, has spent $500,000 on Minnesota races this year, including House races and the state Senate contest.
