How Daunte Wright led a life of crime and violence before his death and shot his own friend in the head, broke into a neighbor's home, and robbed a woman at gunpointDaunte Wright had led a life of crime and violence in the years before his death, DailyMail.com can reveal
The 20-year-old was involved in the shooting of two of his school friends, a home burglary, and previously
assaulted and robbed a woman at gunpoint
Jennifer LeMay said Wright shot her son, Caleb Livingston, 18, in the head and at a gas station and left him to die in an incident in Minneapolis in May 2019
Another woman, identified only as CV, told DailyMail.com Wright assaulted her and pointed a gun at her in an attempted robbery in December 2019
And in 2017, Wright was arrested and charged with felony 1st degree burglary of an occupied dwelling after breaking into his friend's parent's home
Former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter was sentenced after being convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who prior to his death led a life of crime and violence.
Potter, 49, was led away in handcuffs after being jailed for two years for killing Daunte Wright - of which she'll serve 14 months - after being found guilty on all counts at Hennepin County Court on Friday.
Potter was sentenced to 24 months behind bars - far less than the maximum of seven years - but she will serve only 14 months, thanks to an eight-month good behavior concession from Judge Regina Chu and two months time served.
In December she was convicted of first degree manslaughter for killing Wright, a 20-year-old black man while trying to arrest him. She and other cops had pulled him over in Brooklyn Center, near Minneapolis, for driving with expired license tags. There was a warrant out for his arrest at the time and he tried to drive away from them, which is why Potter reached for her Taser.
The shooting, which came in the midst of Derek Chauvin's trial on murder charges in George Floyd's killing, sparked several days of demonstrations outside the Brooklyn Center police station marked by tear gas and clashes between protesters and police.
Evidence at Potter's trial showed officers learned he had an outstanding warrant for a weapons possession charge and they tried to arrest him when he pulled away.
Video showed Potter shouted several times that she was going to tase Wright, but she had her gun in her hand and fired one shot into his chest.
Wright drove off again then his car stopped.
When Potter realized she had shot him, she buckled into cries on the sidewalk.
But through court records and interviews with the victims, DailyMail.com exclusively reported that Wright had led a life of crime and violence before his death, having been involved in the shooting of two of his school friends, a home burglary, and had previously assaulted and robbed a young woman at gunpoint.
'He's an evil human being. Worse than a monster, a waste of space on earth,' Jennifer LeMay told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
She said her son Caleb, now 18, was left permanently disabled after Wright, his one-time friend, allegedly shot him in the head at a gas station and left him to die two years ago.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of her son in May this year describes the fateful events that took place outside a Full Stop convenience store and gas station on May 14, 2019.
The documents state Wright 'discharged a firearm toward Caleb striking him with a single shot bulled in the heard causing serious disabling, and permanent injuries.'
Doctors told his mom he had a slim chance of surviving the next 24-36 hours, but the teen miraculously survived after spending almost seven months in the hospital.
According to LeMay, Wright shot Caleb in the frontal part of his head, with a bullet ripping through to the other side of his skull, where it is still lodged.
'Daunte shot my son and left him to die,' she said. 'During his hospital stay Caleb almost died six times because of his injuries.'
LeMay said the two boys were good friends at one point and that Caleb had had his first sleepover at Wright's house when he was 13.
'The younger Daunte I knew, I thought was a pretty good kid. I never saw any red flags,' she said.
The pair eventually grew apart after Caleb and his mom moved to the Chicago area in 2018.
'Caleb was still in contact with his friend back up in Minneapolis. It was at this time I started hearing things from my son about Daunte,' LeMay said. 'He was running away from home and on one occasion he even spat on his father.'
Months later Caleb went back up to Minneapolis to visit some family members and was at the local gas station when Wright shot him point blank in his head.
LeMay said she heard from people in the area that Daunte admitted to some pals that he had and only wanted to scare Caleb, but the gun 'accidentally' fired.
'I don't believe you can just accidentally shoot someone. I don't buy it,' the mom said.
LeMay said she later learned that a few days prior, the two got into a physical fight and Caleb got the best of Daunte, leading her to believe that the shooting was motivated by revenge.
Her son now suffers from traumatic brain injury and respiratory arrest, and is bound to a wheelchair. He can't speak, or walk, and has limited movement in his limbs.
'Caleb requires 24/7/365 care, he can't eat, dress, or basically do anything on his own. He requires constant attention,' LeMay said.
'He needs to be lifted in and out of his bed into his wheelchair. He has a service dog, a 12-year-old pit bull terrier named Ciroc that stays by his side most of the time.
'He's going to be 19 years old in a few weeks, he should be out dating and having a good time, instead he's bound to his bed and wheelchair.
'He'll never date, he'll never be able to have children, drive a car or most likely tell us he loves us again,' she said tearfully.
'Daunte changed not only Caleb's life but everyone who is around him,' added LeMay.
Wright was never arrested or charged with shooting Caleb.
Before Wright was killed, she said the local police department had told her that they didn't have any witnesses to who shot her son.
'The local police really didn't work that hard on my son's case. To the best of my knowledge they haven't spoken with anyone on the case since May 15, 2019.'
'Technically the case is still open, but they're never going to solve it.'
Now with Wright dead, LeMay says her son will never get justice.
When she first heard the news that he had been killed, LeMay felt relief, then anger.
'I'm mad as hell that he died,' she said. 'I have mixed emotions about his death, part of me is content knowing he'll never be able to hurt someone again like he did to my son and others.
'But then the other part is furious. When Kim Potter killed him, she took away any possibly for him to be held criminal accountable for what he did.
'Now there will never be justice for my child, my son doesn't deserve this type of life.'
She believes Wright would still be alive today if he hadn't attempted to run from the police.
'Daunte lived a lifestyle that didn't have a long life span. He was either going to be imprisoned, kill someone, or be killed. His actions and behavior were inexcusable on every level.
'You live by the sword you die by the sword. How many more lives did he have to destroy? Karma's a b***h, ain't it?' she added.
LeMay, however, admitted she feels sorry for the young man's family because they lost their child.
'But at least Daunte was able to give them a son to carry on his generation, something I'll never experience from my mine,' she added.
Wright's death occurred just as another white officer, Derek Chauvin, was standing trial in nearby Minneapolis for the killing of George Floyd, fueling unrest.
But LeMay said she's disappointed when people call Wright a martyr, a hero, 'the prince of Brooklyn Center' or compare him to Floyd.
'He's no George Floyd. I knew him and interacted with him on occasion,' she said. 'George was a gentleman, he didn't assault anyone, he didn't shoot anyone.
'For all those people who want to believe that Daunte was this saint, I ask them to come walk in my or my son's shoes for 24 hours and experience the repercussions of his criminal behavior.
'I just thank God that Daunte didn't do to their child what he did to mine.'
Months after Wright's death, another a woman identified only as 'C.V.,' (crime victim) sued Wright's estate on November 29, for assault and battery, sexual assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In an interview with DailyMail.com, she described how Wright and his friend allegedly robbed and assaulted her in 2019.
She did not mind showing her face in photos but asked for her name to be withheld fearing reprisal from Wright's associates.
CV said on November 30, 2019 she and her roommate were hanging out in their apartment in Osseo, Minnesota and invited a friend, Emajay Driver over via Snapchat.
'I knew Emajay and thought he was OK. At the time I had no idea he was capable of doing what he did,' she told DailyMail.com.
CV said Driver replied saying he would be bringing a friend named Daunte, who she didn't know.
According to a police report obtained by Dailymail.com, Driver and Wright were dropped off by an unknown driver around 10pm on Sunday to CV's one-bedroom apartment.
Driver and Wright went inside CV's apartment and they listened to music, played games, and smoked marijuana and drank alcohol. They were talking about relationships and at one point in the conversation, CV told Driver and Wright about an abusive ex-boyfriend.
Wright told CV that he was 'offended by any man who abuses a woman deserves to rot in prison.'
'After I heard Daunte tell me this, it made me feel a bit more comfortable around him,' added CV.
At around 2:30am, CV's roommate wanted to go to bed because she had to get up early for work. She slept on the sofa in the living room area, while CV slept in the bedroom.
'I asked Emajay and Daunte when were they planning on leaving, and they told me they were waiting for their ride.
'A short time later Daunte left to go outside of the apartment, I thought it was to check on their ride. But a few minutes later Daunte came back inside with food for him and Emajay.'
'They told me their ride wasn't going to be able to pick them up, it was snowing outside at the time and freezing cold. So, I let them stay over at our apartment for the night.'
CV said both Wright and Driver slept on the floor in her room, she slept in her bed by herself. Both were perfect gentleman all night, she said.
'I waited for them to fall asleep before I went to bed. At that time, I had no reason to believe what was going to happen next.'
The next morning CV's roommate told her that she was going to the ATM to go get her half of the rent. The night before CV reminded the roommate that they had to pay rent the next morning and she thinks that Driver and Wright overheard their conversation.
CV said Wright made a comment that he did not have to work that day, and he turned to Driver and said we should 'hit some stains', which is slang for robbing someone, but she thought it was a joke.
She asked the men again when they were going to be leaving as she noticed they were procrastinating at that point and claimed to be waiting for their ride.
'I was busy getting ready to leave so I wasn't paying too much attention to the situation,' CV said.
Before leaving, she took the $820 cash of rent money and stuffed it in the side of her bra: 'I have no idea why I decided to hide the money, I just had a bad feeling,' she said.
But just as they were all walking to the door to exit the apartment, Wright turned around and blocked the door and pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at victim and demanded the rent money.
According to CV, Wright pointed his gun at her and kept saying: 'I know you have the money, give me the f**king money, we know you have the money, that is what we are here for.'
'I then looked at Emajay and said to him, "are you kidding me?"'
She said Emajay then said to her: 'No, just listen to him. Do what he says, just do it.'
'He pointed the gun at my head, only a few feet away. I stared down the barrel of his gun. I looked him dead in his eyes and I saw nothing but darkness, pure evil,' CV said.
'I asked him if taking my life over $800 is worth going to prison for the rest of your life?
'After I said that, he put the gun down to his side and with his other hand began to choke me for about 10 seconds.
'I dropped to the floor on my knees to try to break free. I was screaming at him, stop, stop, hoping my neighbors would hear something.'
At that point, Emajay told Wright that the money was in her bra. CV ended up breaking free for a second but Wright 'then grabbed my shirt and started to pull it apart, in my bra area trying to rip it off me to get to the money. '
She then broke free again, at this time she didn't know if the money had fallen out or not.
'Daunte then grabbed me by the neck again and started to choke me, I yelled, "I don't have the money.'
Driver eventually opened the door and both men ran out, as CV chased them believing they had somehow stolen her money.
They both jumped into a waiting car, CV went back to her apartment and later discovered she still had the money tucked away in the side area of her bra.
Both Driver and Wright were arrested days later.
CV said she is still traumatized by that night more than two years later. 'I still have nightmares, even though he's dead. I attend therapy for PTSD.'
Driver plead guilty to the crime and served time in jail. At the time of his death Wright was awaiting trial for aggravated robbery.
According to the Osseo Police Department incident report, Daunte Wright was a documented Loud Pack gang member.
'When I first heard about Daunte's death my heart sunk, I relived the moment when he put his gun to my head,' CV said.
'I was also relieved because I knew he could never hurt me or anyone else again. But part of me was also mad, I wanted to face Daunte at a trial in a controlled environment where I could tell him what he did to me and how he traumatized me.
'I'll never get that chance now; he'll never be held accountable criminally for what he did to me.'
She added: 'He's an evil human being, a monster. He's the worst of the worst. He's not someone to look up to or celebrate.'
Speaking on Potter's trial ahead of the verdict, CV said she believed 'both sides are going to be unhappy no matter what the jury decides.'
DailyMail.com can also reveal Julian Manjo became another victim of Daunte Wright after the then-teenager broke into his house while he was at home.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Manjo said that his son previously played basketball with Wright, 'they weren't the best of friends, but they were teammates.'
'I treated Daunte like a son when he came over. There were occasions when Wright would come home with Manjo and spend time in their house.
'Daunte would come to our house after a basketball game or practice and wait until his parents would come get him.'
Court documents exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com say that the then 17-year-old Wright one day 'rang the doorbell of his house' but Manjo looking through the main floor window, saw it was an acquaintance of his son and didn't answer the door.
He then observed Wright walk to the back door of the house and he repeatedly knocked on the door, again Manjo didn't answer the door.
Manjo then said Wright walked over to a bathroom window, which was unlocked, and removed the screen window and placed it against a neighbor's garage.
Wright then returned to the rear door and again repeatedly knocked on the door. When he received no response, he returned to the bathroom, opened it, and crawled into the bathroom.
At this time Manjo says he grabbed a kitchen knife and confronted Wright. Manjo said that 'Daunte ran back into the bathroom slamming the door shut behind and crawled back out of the bathroom window.'
Manjo said he left the knife inside his house and ran outside to confront Wright. He caught up to Wright who by this time was casually walking away from the house, trying not to be too conspicuous.
'I caught up with him and told him, I know who you are and I'm reporting you to the police.'
'He didn't say a word he just ran down the alley after that.'
Wright was later charged with felony 1st degree burglary of an occupied dwelling.
A mental health assessment order exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com stated that he had exhibited anxiety symptoms, disruptive behavior disorder including lying, stealing aggression, academic issue and they recommended he get correctional placement considerations.
After several missed court dates and warrants, he spent time in a juvenile facility and was ordered to get family functional therapy after pleading guilty to a trespassing charge.
'I don't have any opinion on the Kim Potter trial, my case with Daunte is over, it's done,' said Manjo.
'But I will say I am extremely disappointed in him.'
Wright was involved in another incident just three weeks before he was shot dead.
According to a civil lawsuit, he and an accomplice shot former classmate Joshua Hodges on March 21, 2021.
The lawsuit says Hodges was sitting alone in his car near a residential address when Wright and an unnamed accomplice approached him in a premeditated attempt to steal his car.
The accomplices shot Hodges in the lower left leg hitting an artery that caused massive bleeding, fracturing his left fibula resulting in a lengthy hospitalization.
Wright then went over to Hodges who was bleeding from the gunshot and began to assault him, causing facial, mouth and teeth injuries. He then stole Hodges's wallet, cell phone and car.
The lawsuit states that Wright has a lengthy criminal record. He was never arrested nor charged in this case.
Attorney Michael Padden is now representing Hodges, CV, and Livingston.
'The purpose of these lawsuits is to hold Daunte Wright accountable for his criminal conduct,' he told DailyMail.com.
'We are confident that we will secure judgements and eventual financial compensation from the Wright estate.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10528747/How-Daunte-Wright-led-life-crime-violence-death.html
