Hennepin County charged Melvonte Peterson with two counts of second-degree murder in Omar Berkley's 2020 death.

Two counts filed this week are charges in a shooting from Aug. 31, 2020. They are not a verdict. Additional witness testimony in late 2025, which police said moved the case, is not a jury finding. Critical condition at North Memorial, in KARE 11, and grave condition at a hospital, in Patch's account of the 2020 release, are not the same medical report.

Patch, in a story by William Bornhoft posted Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, at 9:35 a.m. CT, reported that police announced Saturday that a 35-year-old man has been charged with murder in a fatal Minneapolis shooting from six years ago. It reported Melvonte Peterson, who is currently incarcerated, was charged this week by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office in the Aug. 31, 2020, death of Omar Berkley, according to the Minneapolis Police Department. It reported he faces two counts of second-degree murder: intentional murder without premeditation, and murder committed during a drive-by shooting. It reported homicide investigators submitted the case after what the department described as an extensive investigation, and that police said additional witness testimony in late 2025, along with further evidence developed afterward, helped move the case to charges. KARE 11, in a story by its staff published at 10:36 p.m. CDT on Oct. 31, 2026, reported the same age, the same two counts, the same name, and the same date of death. It reported the Hennepin County Attorney's Office charged him this week, that the investigation continued for several years, that investigators received additional witness testimony in late 2025 and developed further evidence, and that Peterson is currently incarcerated, according to Minneapolis police. Saturday's announcement, which Patch reported, and the story KARE 11 published Saturday night, are the same week. Neither story printed a court date.

Patch reported the shooting happened on the 2900 block of Oliver Avenue North. It reported police said at the time that 911 callers reported a man down and a vehicle speeding away, that officers found him lying on the grass near the curb with gunshot wounds and gave immediate aid, according to the department's 2020 release, that he was taken to a hospital in grave condition and died shortly after arriving, and that police described the suspect vehicle as a smaller, dark-colored SUV-style truck. KARE 11 reported officers responded to the 2900 block of Oliver Avenue North after 911 callers reported a shooting and a man lying on the ground, that witnesses also reported a vehicle speeding away, and that officers found Berkley suffering from gunshot wounds, gave medical aid, and took him to North Memorial Health Hospital in critical condition, where he died shortly after arriving. A man down, in Patch, and a shooting with a man lying on the ground, in KARE 11, are not the same description of the 911 calls. The grass near the curb is Patch. KARE 11 does not print the grass or the curb. Grave condition, and a hospital, are Patch's account of the 2020 release. Critical condition, and North Memorial Health Hospital, are KARE 11. A smaller, dark-colored SUV-style truck is Patch. A vehicle is what KARE 11 printed. Those are not the same description of the car.

Patch reported police said Peterson has previous criminal convictions, including a firearms-related conviction stemming from his involvement in a July 8, 2016, drive-by shooting that killed his 2-year-old son. The department's account, as Patch printed it, named that child. This story does not. KARE 11 did not print the 2016 case. That conviction is a separate case from the two counts filed this week. Both outlets reported he is currently incarcerated. Neither one, in the stories read here, printed which sentence he is serving now. Patch reported that in the announcement the department asked anyone with information to come forward, and it printed CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS and case number 20-226681. KARE 11 did not print that number. The two counts are what the Hennepin County Attorney's Office filed, according to Minneapolis police. They are not a finding that he killed Omar Berkley. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.