33-year-old man sentenced to life in prison without parole for 2023 Fridley murder

A 33-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole in connection with a fatal shooting in the parking lot of a Cub Foods in Fridley in March 2023.

Johnson Kenny Sirleaf has already served 457 days.

He was convicted and sentenced for first degree murder. He was also charged with second-degree murder and kidnapping, but was not convicted of those offenses because they are minor offenses.

Sirleaf's co-defendant, Blanyon Toe Davies, is expected to be sentenced later this month for helping Sirleaf.

As previously reported, the murder took place on March 9, 2023. Responding officers found 27-year-old Devon Michael Adams with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead.

Court documents say Adams' girlfriend told police he was staying at the Extended Stay Hotel, next door to the Cub.

A witness said he heard a “pop” and saw Adams fall to the ground, before seeing a red SUV flee the area. The witness said the SUV was behind the hotel a few weeks earlier.

Surveillance video showed the SUV entered the parking lot, drove directly toward Adams' truck and stopped in front of him as if to prevent him from leaving. Witnesses said the two people in the vehicle were arguing when the shot was fired, and video showed the SUV then heading directly toward an apartment complex off Main Street in Fridley.

20 minutes later, the video showed a pickup truck picking up the driver of the SUV and leaving.

The SUV was registered to two women who had ties to Sirleaf, and the truck was registered to Davies.

Cell phone data placed Sirleaf in the parking lot at the time of the shooting and placed Sirleaf and Davies together, surveillance video shows.

Investigators also learned that Davies had stayed at the Extended Stay Hotel from March 5 to 15 and that Sirleaf had also spent nights at the hotel. Surveillance showed the two men had also been frequenting the hotel since Adams was shot and killed.