CRIME TALES MN

08/22/2026

A man dressed as Spider-Man was captured on livestream in the middle of a tense confrontation during a racist-themed march in downtown Minneapolis Saturday.

Hours later, the man who organized the march was in jail.

Edward Jacob Lang, 31, was booked into the Hennepin County Jail at 3:51 p.m. Saturday after being arrested by Minneapolis police.

Jail records show Lang is currently being held on probable cause of riot under Minnesota Statute 609.71. The roster lists him as being held without bail.

The arrest followed a chaotic scene surrounding the march, where livestream video showed counter-protesters confronting participants. During one intense moment, a person wearing a full Spider-Man costume could be seen becoming physically involved in the confrontation.

Lang's event had drawn opposition over extremely racist messaging associated with the march.

As of Saturday afternoon, the jail roster did not list an MNCIS court case number or a next court appearance for Lang.

Because this remains a probable-cause arrest, the allegations have not yet been filed court as of the release time of this post.

08/22/2026

For several hours, correctional staff at Minnesota’s maximum-security prison worked to bring a large group of incarcerated men back under normal prison operations without any reported injuries.

According to reports, the August 20 situation at MCF-Oak Park Heights reached the point where negotiators were communicating with individuals identified as leaders among the group.

The incident had started earlier with a dispute involving several incarcerated men before expanding to involve about 40 people.

At some point during the escalation, the larger group would not return to their cells as directed. Reports indicate the situation became aggressive enough for correctional staff to leave the affected unit.

Security measures were also expanded beyond that area, with other units inside Oak Park Heights placed on lockdown while the prison brought in additional resources to manage the situation.

A crisis negotiation team and other special operations personnel were activated as the incident continued.

After several hours, the men agreed to go back into their cells.

Staff then inspected the affected unit and completed the prisoner count.

No injuries were reported. Damage inside the unit was described as minimal.

What caused the original dispute has not been publicly identified. Available information also does not identify the specific unit involved or indicate whether anything was recovered from the area afterward.

According to reports, disciplinary action is expected for incarcerated men determined to have been involved.

08/22/2026

Nearly a year after a woman was found dead inside a Richfield home, a major development has emerged in the case against the man charged in her death.

Shay Michael Benson, 38, pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse with a past pattern of domestic abuse in the September 2025 death of Jennifer Millons.

Benson was originally charged in September 2025 with second-degree intentional murder. According to the criminal complaint, the killing occurred at a home on Bloomington Avenue in Richfield on September 7.

The case later went before a Hennepin County grand jury. Benson was indicted this month on two counts of first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse with a past pattern of domestic abuse and one count of second-degree intentional murder.

Under the plea agreement, Benson pleaded guilty to Count 2, first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse with a past pattern of domestic abuse. Counts 1 and 3 will be dismissed.

Benson will be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Possible restitution will be determined at sentencing.

According to the criminal complaint, Benson called 911 at approximately 5:01 a.m. on September 7 and reported that a woman was inside the home with a serious head injury. Officers arrived minutes later and found Millons dead.

Investigators reported finding blood throughout several areas of the home along with evidence that some areas appeared to have been cleaned.

Police also obtained surveillance video from a neighboring property. According to the complaint, the footage captured Benson and Millons outside the home during the hours before police were called and did not show anyone else entering or leaving the residence during the relevant period.

Surveillance showed Benson leaving the property at approximately 3:31 a.m. and returning at 4:54 a.m. According to the complaint, he called 911 at 5:01 a.m.

Benson is scheduled to be sentenced September 21.

08/21/2026

Behind The Walls Episode 9 (short teaser)

The next episode of Behind the Walls takes us inside MCF-Stillwater, a prison with more than a century of history.

On September 19, 2024, what began as a routine morning inside B-West changed fast.

In our next episode, we uncover how one unexpected incident set off a chain of events that no one inside that morning could have seen coming behind the walls.

08/19/2026

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, joined by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, announced a federal lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over the extradition of ICE agent Christian Castro.

Castro is charged in Hennepin County with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime stemming from a January shooting in Minneapolis.

He has been jailed in Texas since May while Minnesota seeks his return.

08/18/2026

08/18/2026

Some places and things can't be replaced or reproduced

Blondies in Brooklyn Park.

Brooklyn Park wasn’t like it is now but inside of Blondies it was fun wild crazy and we will leave it at that.

If you know you know.

08/17/2026

CONTENT WARNING: This post involved the death of a child die to endangerment.

A woman has now been sentenced in a case involving the death of a child she was babysitting after admitting she had been drinking and using drugs while caring for the girl and her twin sister.

57-year-old Tracey Andrea Flex was sentenced in Hennepin County on August 7, 2026, after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter and felony child endangerment.

Flex received 52 months in prison on the manslaughter conviction and 23 months on the child-endangerment conviction, with the sentences running concurrently.

Flex pleaded guilty to both charges on June 15, 2026. Court filings indicate the case involved a hybrid straight plea.

There was no agreement on how much prison time she would receive, but the prosecution and defense agreed that the sentences on the two counts would run concurrently.

Court filings further indicate that during her guilty plea, Flex admitted she had consumed crack co***ne and alcohol while she was supposed to be caring for the twin girls.

She also admitted preparing herself a drink containing methadone and accidentally putting some of the methadone-laced beverage into the sippy cup of one of the twins.

According to the criminal complaint, Flex was babysitting the twin girls on November 16, 2025, after their father left them in her care earlier that day.

At about 2:50 p.m., Minneapolis police and emergency medical personnel responded after one of the children became unconscious and had difficulty breathing.

First responders began life-saving efforts before taking her to HCMC, where she was admitted to intensive care in critical condition.

The complaint further states that a little more than two hours later, police and EMS returned to the same location after the second twin became distressed.

EMS found that she was not breathing and had pinpoint pupils. She was given Narcan and her condition improved considerably. Hospital testing later indicated that both children had ingested methadone.

According to the complaint, police executed a search warrant at the residence that evening. Officers seized children's cups, food and beverages, a white powdery substance from the couch and Flex's purse.

Inside her purse, investigators found two glass pipes with black residue consistent with narcotics use and three prescription bottles containing medication, including methadone.

Court filings further indicate that the child who was initially taken to HCMC suffered a severe brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow. Life support was withdrawn on November 26, 2025, and she died.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner determined her cause of death was hypoxic ischemic brain injury due to resuscitated cardiac arrest caused by methadone toxicity. Her twin survived after spending six days intubated in intensive care and a total of ten days in the hospital.

Flex was committed to the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Shakopee and received credit for 265 days she had already served in custody.

08/17/2026

A former Assistant Anoka County prosecutor who later worked in the county’s Family Law and Civil divisions is now facing 26 felony charges in a major BCA human trafficking investigation involving 13 alleged victims.

Andrea Leigh Sampson, 35, previously worked as an Assistant Anoka County Attorney. Anoka County records from 2020 listed Sampson as an attorney in the office’s Criminal Division, She later worked for the Family Law and Civil divisions.

Sampson is now charged in Hennepin County with 13 felony counts of promoting prostitution of an individual and 13 felony counts of receiving profits from prostitution, involving 13 alleged victims.

Most of the individual charges carry a maximum possible sentence of 20 years and/or a $40,000 fine. The earliest charged conduct dates back to 2020.

According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement, including the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Human Trafficking Task Force, has been investigating an alleged commercial s*x trafficking operation since 2021.

The complaint states the operation allegedly worked in Minneapolis, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, St. Louis Park and surrounding areas.

The criminal complaint alleges Sampson secured and provided locations where commercial s*x transactions occurred and assisted in creating and maintaining LLCs that investigators believed were being used as shell companies to hide or funnel profits from the alleged operation.

According to the complaint, investigators also found that proceeds were moved into bank accounts connected to LLCs created and maintained by Sampson.

Court records further allege that properties owned by Sampson were used as locations where photographs were taken for commercial s*x advertisements and where commercial s*x transactions occurred.

According to allegations detailed in the criminal complaint, investigators interviewed numerous women who described being advertised for commercial s*x, having appointments scheduled for them and being required to give portions of the money they received from customers back to the organization.

Several allegedly described placing cash in envelopes marked with their names or initials for collection.

The complaint also contains serious allegations about what some of the women said occurred while they were connected to the organization.

According to court records, multiple alleged victims reported s*xual assaults involving people connected to the alleged operation.

The complaint states one alleged victim appeared scared about the defendants finding out that she was speaking with law enforcement.

According to the complaint, another alleged victim told investigators that the women were told management was “watching” them and that the organization had police working for it.

Investigators also wrote that several alleged victims reported a man with a gun would sometimes appear to help keep women “in line” after management became displeased.

The complaint states that investigators recovered numerous communications from phones seized during the investigation.

According to court records, phone records, journal or diary entries and other information also led investigators to write that Sampson and two other defendants appeared to believe they were in romantic or s*xual relationships with another defendant while continuing their alleged roles within the organization.

Court records show Sampson’s bail was set at $1 million. Conditions of release include no contact with alleged victims or co-defendants, remaining law abiding, making all court appearances, no possession of weapons, no use of drugs or alcohol and random drug testing.

Sampson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in criminal court.