Lavell Jacvon Piggie, background photo, was sentenced in the murders of Malik Travon Carr-Riggins, right inset, and Case Samuel Ritzman, left inset. (Screenshots from FOX 9 Minneapolis)
A 20-year-old man was sentenced to 51 years in prison for the murders of two men in a drug dispute in Minnesota.
Lavell Jacvon Piggie, 20, was sentenced to 612 months in prison on Friday in the murders of Malik Travon Carr-Riggins, 23, and Case Samuel Ritzman, 30. Piggie pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in May, according to a news release from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty.
“He could bedazzle anyone with a smile, and he was just instantly gone,” said Ritzman’s mom, Nancy, through tears, in court.
Carr-Riggins left behind five children, ages 8, 3, 2 (twins), and 9 months, his mother, Consandra Carr, said on GoFundMe, hoping to raise money for funeral costs and expenses for the kids.
“As this tragedy was unexpected, he was one of the sole caregivers, and to make the transition more accessible; we are asking the community to help us help our family,” the site said.
His death was even more traumatic because Piggie was considered a family friend, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul reported.
In court, Cianche Felton, who organized the GoFundMe campaign, said, “Malik’s death was personal, and we want justice.”
Piggie’s defense attorney, Joseph Friedberg, argued for the low end of sentencing, saying in court, “he was under the influence of gang members almost from the time he got out of the crib.”
But the judge gave him the maximum punishment under the plea deal.
Prosecutors said Piggie admitted to a brazen double murder and has now been held legally accountable.
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“I see no remorse, no concern for his fellow man,” Nancy Ritzman said.
According to the criminal complaint, officers responded to a report of gunshots near 2031 Sheridan Avenue N in Minneapolis around 3:40 p.m. on Feb. 10, 2022.
Once there, officers spotted a four-door sedan that had jumped the curb and stopped in a snowbank, prosecutors said. The rear passenger-side door was open, but the vehicle was running and was still shifted into drive. Officers saw two men dead in the front seat.
Through phone data, surveillance footage, and witness accounts, authorities said Piggie was seen entering the car with the two victims, and the three then drove for eight minutes across north Minneapolis.
At about 3:42 p.m., surveillance video in the area recorded eight gunshots. Witnesses and surveillance video tracked an individual — Piggie — getting out of the car after the gunshots and fleeing, prosecutors said.
He was arrested on Feb. 22, 2022, after a high-speed pursuit ended when police spun his vehicle out in a PIT (Precision Immobilization Technique) maneuver — used by police to force a fleeing vehicle to turn 180 degrees.
Authorities said they recovered significant amounts of suspected crack cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl, over $3,000 in cash, and a baggie filled with .40 caliber live rounds of ammunition from Piggie’s residence.
Case Samuel Ritzman’s obituary said he loved family, sports and poetry slams.
“He also had an incredibly huge heart, wanting to care for others, always putting them first, sometimes to a fault,” the obit read. “Then there was that dazzling smile which continued throughout his trials and journeys since high school, charming everyone he came across. His family and friends will be lost without him.”
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