Man gets 10 years for fatal pawn shop fire during Minneapolis riots
A Rochester man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection to the arson of a Minneapolis pawn shop during riots that followed the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020.
The arson resulted in one man’s death, authorities confirmed.
Montez Terriel Lee, 26, was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Lee was arrested in connection with the incident in June of last year. According to court documents, Lee, along with others, broke into Max It Pawn Shop on East Lake Street in Minneapolis on May 28.
The pawn shop is located east of the Minneapolis Police Department 3rd Precinct and a Target, which were also looted and damaged in the riots.
Lee was seen on surveillance video pouring a fire accelerant around the shop before lighting it on fire. Another video showed Lee standing in front of the building and he was heard yelling: "F--- this place. We're going to burn this b---- down."
Lee was also tagged in a Facebook post that referred to him as an activist followed by emojis of a laughing face, fire and skull, the attorney's office said.
In July of last year, authorities found the body of a 30-year-old man in the rubble of the pawn shop. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office found that the cause of death was “probable inhalation of products of combustion and thermal injury.”
