Call Me Stormy

The Other Murder Case

While the Derek Chauvin murder trial hogged the airwaves and headlines nationwide last week, there was a similar court case in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that garnered little attention. And like the Chauvin outcome, a white man was found guilty of murdering a black man under shady circumstances.

The case revolved around a minor traffic fender bender that escalated into a heated argument, culminating in Anthony Trifiletti shooting and killing Douglas Lewis. Trifiletti, a concealed-carry permit holder, opened fire when he saw Lewis reach under his shirt for something. Claiming self defense, Trifiletti was tried in early March, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict, resulting in a mistrial. The case was retried in April and Trifiletti was found guilty of second-degree murder the very same day Chauvin was convicted.

Vincent James, of The Red Elephants, says he’s skeptical about all that went down, since the media has lied about every other shooting where a black victim was involved. “You have to wonder, were the jurors swayed by this whole Derek Chauvin case, particularly in the city of Minneapolis or St. Paul? I think that they were, of course,” he says. Here’s more on the Trifiletti case with James.