Expired tabs lead to arrest of murder suspect in Hopkins

A routine traffic stop in Hopkins wound up catching an accused killer. 

According to Hopkins police, an officer pulled over a driver on June 3 for expired license plate tabs. The driver attempted to give a fake name, but was ultimately identified as 24-year-old Leontawan Holt, who was arrested at the scene and booked into jail for a parole violation. 

Then on June 16, Holt was charged with second-degree murder for the April 23 killing of a man outside a bar in Uptown, Minneapolis. 

According to the charges, Holt was identified through surveillance video entering Williams Pub in Uptown at about 10:20 p.m. on April 23. About an hour and a half later Holt punched a bar patron in the face, which started a brief brawl, charges state. 

Two minutes after Holt is caught on camera throwing a punch, he leaves the bar and begins walking west on the sidewalk. Meanwhile, another man (identified as "victim" in the criminal complaint) who had also been inside the bar during the fight was walking towards Holt on the sidewalk. 

What happened next is detailed in the criminal complaint: 

"Victim walks past [Holt's] group and appears to try to pull an item out of his pocket. [Holt's] hand then extends, and a handgun is visible. [Holt] fires his handgun at Victim. Multiple shots are heard. Victim runs east on the sidewalk and ultimately collapses to the ground."

The victim died at the scene, marking what at the time was the 26th death reported as a homicide in Minneapolis this year. 

Court documents note that Holt has a violent criminal history, including first-degree aggravated robbery in 2014 and other weapons violations. A 2019 court document identified him as a member of the Minneapolis street gang known as the "Rolling 30's Bloods."

Holt's next court appearance is scheduled for July 7.