HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 09-21 Family, friends of 20-year-old gunned down in Maplewood plead for the public’s help PIONEER PRESSNEWS , CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Family, friends of 20 -year-old
gunned down in Maplewood
plead for the public's help
A $7,000 reward is being offered up to help find those
responsible for Devinn Madley's Aug. 28 slaying
By WICK REIRRAIRO I nferraro@pioneerpress.com I Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: September 21, 2021 at 7:10 p.m. I UPDATED: September 21, 2021 at 8:56
p.m.
Every day since Devinn Madley's Aug. 28 death, his mother has gone to the place
where the 20 -year-old was fatally shot while walking home from a neighborhood
store in Maplewood. She sits at a memorial that sprung up at the scene of the
unsolved homicide to honor her son and take comfort from being with others
who knew him.
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"I have to be here every day," Abbey Madley said Tuesday morning at the
memorial, which has grown to include dozens of pictures of her son, notes to
him, balloons and glass jar candles that spell his name — all of which are
protected under two shade tents, at Larpenteur Avenue and Howard Street.
"There's usually somebody else up here, too."
Police investigators say that despite actively following up on several leads, no one
has been arrested in connection with the homicide — Maplewood's Ione this
year — and that they have yet to determine a motive.
Devinn Madley's family and friends and police investigators gathered at the
memorial Tuesday for a news conference to bring added attention to his killing
and also announce that a $7,000 reward is being offered for information that
leads to the arrest of the person or people responsible.
Maplewood police Lt. Joe Steiner said investigators believe three people were
directly involved in Madley's murder; however, they have not identified the
suspects. He said investigators have reviewed video surveillance from businesses
and homes.
"Hopefully, the reward is enough to get someone that's been hesitant to come
forward to push them over that line and help out," Steiner said, adding that the
reward money is a mix of funds raised through a GoFundMe page and from the
police department. "As you can see behind me, Devinn has a lot of family and
friends, and there's a lot of support out there for this investigation."
Madley's father, Theryl Dugas, called his son's death "senseless" and "a parent's
worst nightmare."
"And I need answers. I want answers," Dugas said. "He was a good kid, never got
into trouble. He worked. He played video games. He paid bills. He was just
getting into his way of life as a young man. And somebody knows something out
here. And I'm begging and I'm pleading right now. I need answers."
SEEKING A MOTIVE
..eceiv reports
Around 8:45 p.m. Aug. 28, Maplewood and St. Pau police both r . lived
t at East Larpenteur Avenue and North Howard Street,
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a residential and commercial area just west of McKnight Road. They found
Madley suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Steiner said Tuesday that investigators have not been able to link Madley's death
to other homicides.
Steiner, when asked if Madley was found with his personal belongings, like a
cellphone or wallet, said he could not disclose those details of the case.
"We're still trying to determine the motive for the shooting at this time," he said.
Despite police not having established motive, Madley's family has their own
thoughts on his slaying.
"It's not drug-related, it's not gang -related. It's just senseless," Dugas said. "At the
end of the day, the world has to know he was a good kid. It's difficult. It pains my
heart. Not just for me, but for other parents who are going through the same
thing. These are trying times, not in just in this community, but in St. Paul and
Minneapolis. It hurts my heart."
REMEMBERING DEVINN
Madley's family said he had been at a friend's birthday party at Texas Roadhouse
in Woodbury earlier in the night and took a Lyft ride home. He then walked the
four blocks to a tobacco shop.
Madley's cousin, Azaraia Hollenbeck, said that he sent her a video showing his
food and him "making a funny face."
His younger sister, Ionna Swift, said she misses his "goofiness."
"He's just really cheesy," said Swift, who turned 19 years old the day after he
died.
Madley lived in Maplewood for 11 years, attending North St. Paul High School
and then East View Academy, an alternative school in Little Canada. For the past
two years, he worked with his mother at FedEx Ground in Mahtomedi. He
recently got his driver's permit, and got a tattoo of his grandmother's birth year
when she died.
Madley's older brother, DeAnthony Taylor -Dugas, who put the ink on his arm,
said Madley stayed to himself.
"I just feel like this was dirty people hatin' on him," Taylor -Dugas, 32, of Apple
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At 8 p.m. Saturday, Madley's family and friends will gather in the parking lot of
Aldrich Arena, just up from where he was killed, and release sky lanterns in his
memory.
Anyone with information about Madley's death is asked to call Maplewood police
at 651-249-2608.
Tags: Crime, IMalpl�ewood, IRannsey County
Nick Ferraro I Dakota County
`�� reporter
A Northeast Minneapolis native, Nick Ferraro was hired by the
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�� Pioneer Press in 1997 after graduating from the University of St.
Thomas in St. Paul. He's been a reporter covering communities
since 2007. He can be reached at 651-228-2173.
nferraro@pioneerpress.com
11ullll" Follow Nick Ferraro @NFerrarolPilPres s
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