Search warrant: Police suspected Dolal Idd of having, selling guns

Court documents made public Monday reveal why Minneapolis police were trying to arrest Dolal Idd when they fatally shot him outside a south Minneapolis gas station on Dec. 30, 2020.

Police suspected Idd, 23, of having a high-capacity pistol and other guns and were attempting to arrest him for illegally selling a gun, according to a search warrant application for Idd's parents' home in Eden Prairie.

According to the search warrant application, on Dec. 30, 2020, members of the Minneapolis Police Department's Community Response Team was using a confidential informant to buy a high-capacity pistol from Idd. The confidential informant had told police that Idd also had guns at his home, where he lived with his parents.

"When the team moved in to arrest the suspect (Idd), a gunfight ensued and the suspect was killed at the scene," the application states, noting Idd drove up to the scene in a white Chevrolet Cobalt with a woman passenger. 

Minneapolis police released body camera footage of the shooting on Dec. 31, which they say shows Idd firing at officers first. 

BCA crime scene investigators found a handgun between Idd's body and the center console of the vehicle, the warrant application states. 

The female passenger, who owns the vehicle, told investigators she was Idd's girlfriend and only knows him as "Bird." She said she had been to his house in Eden Prairie, where he lives in the basement.

Per the warrant, an Eden Prairie Police crime analyst apparently knew that Idd uses the nickname "Bird" and has a criminal history that includes weapons violations and narcotics, the application states. His Eden Prairie home, which his father owns, has a history of calls, including a 2018 weapons offense. In that case, ATF records listed Idd as possessing a 12-gauge shotgun.

Idd's address is the same as Mohamed Bayle Idd, who was arrested by Bloomington police in early December for a homicide involving a firearm, the search warrant application states. 

The search warrant application says investigators sought a nighttime search of the family's home due to the likely presence of guns and prevent Idd's family from moving or destroying any evidence after learning of their son's death. 

The search warrant application was filed by Brandon Johnson of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) at 12:13 a.m. on Dec. 31, hours after Idd was killed. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill signed off on the search warrant at 12:20 a.m.

However, nothing was taken from the home during the search because "None of the items set forth in the search warrant were found," including guns, according to the inventory receipt filed in court.

Idd's death and the search of his parents' home in the middle of the night led to protests in the Twin Cities. 

Idd's father, Bayle Gelle, alleged Hennepin County Sheriff's Office deputies, who aided in the search of the home, mistreated his family. MPR News notes activists have criticized the search, questioning why Idd's family was told of his death only after they were woken up and placed in zip-tied handcuffs. 

Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson defended the deputies' actions during the search and released body camera footage of the search.

Hennepin County attorney won't handle the case

Also on Monday, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office released a statement saying no law enforcement agency has not yet presented it with any evidence and it is unlikely the office will be involved at all. 

That's because back in June 2020, five county attorneys in the Twin Cities metro agreed to new protocols on how to handle cases in which police kill someone in order to mitigate issues or potential conflicts of interest that may arise. 

As a result of this new protocol, the office in which the incident occurred is not involved with the investigation and decision on possible prosecution of the officers involved. 

Instead, one of the other county attorneys' offices – Anoka, Dakota, Ramsey of Washington – will oversee the case.