MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Minneapolis woman has been charged in connection to a recent shooting in a Bloomington hotel.
Trimeanna Williams, 39, was charged with one count of aiding an offender after the fact and another count of aiding an offender to avoid arrest. She will make her first court appearance Tuesday.
According to the criminal complaint, on July 12 at 11:51 a.m., a housekeeper at LaQuinta Hotel in Bloomington found a woman lying on the floor, dead. She was later identified as 39-year-old Jennifer Swaggert, who died of a single gunshot to the face.
The room had been rented from July 9 to July 12; police found a number of personal objects, including partially full alcoholic beverages and two iPhones left behind in the room.
On July 13, Williams called the hotel asking if she could retrieve her belongings. Hotel management then contacted the police, who spoke to Williams.
She was in the room with her “best friend” Swaggert on the night of July 11 through the early morning of July 12, she said. In an interview with officers, she said she had a lot of liquor that night, and invited her 17-year-old son to join her. He arrived with three friends and carried a handgun in his pocket. Williams admitted to taking the gun outside to the hotel parking lot and firing it once.
Later, a 16-year-old friend said the two adults argued; Williams wanted Swaggert to pay for her storage unit. The 17-year-old son tried to intervene, and pointed the gun at Swaggert.
Williams’ 12-year-old son later told police that Swaggert asked “Are you going to shoot me?” Williams told her older son not to shoot, but the 12-year-old said he turned his head and heard a “boom.” He knew she was dead because there was blood on the wall, he said.
According to the complaint, Williams then told everyone in the room to leave. They went to a nearby gas station, where they called a Lyft. They eventually ended up at Powderhorn Park, where the older son shot the gun twice in the air. Williams’ son and his friends then walked to the lake, where they disposed of the gun.
Officers confirmed Williams had a storage unit and owed approximately $270 in late rent. On the morning of her death, Swaggert went to the storage facility and spoke to the manager, saying she would pay Williams’ overdue bill. However, after some discussion, she changed her mind and left without paying.
If convicted, Williams could face four and a half years in prison.