The FBI has arrested one of two murder suspects in the Nov. 3 death of Julian DeMarrias, who died after a street shooting in Redby, Minn., on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.
Ralph Boelter, special agent in charge of the FBI's Minneapolis office, said in a news release today that Donald Leigh Clark Jr., 22, Redby, was found late Saturday night hiding under a blanket in the backseat of a car driven by his girlfriend.
The other suspect, Cruz Anthony White, 19, remains a federal fugitive, wanted on murder and attempted murder charges.
White and Clark had been feuding with DeMarrias and his brothers, Jerrick DeMarrias, 19, and Orlando Spears, 19. In mid-afternoon on Nov. 3, the two groups of men piled out of vehicles on a residential street with guns. The shooting left the three brothers shot up: DeMarrias dying hours later in the Red Lake hospital a few miles away, and his two brothers wounded by gunfire from Clark and White, according to the FBI. Before he died, DeMarrias named Clark as his killer, the FBI said.
Jerrick DeMarrias was left lying on the street, wounded; Spears was found in the brothers' vehicle, too wounded to get out, with the back window of the vehicle shot out.
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Clark first was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm two days after the shooting, then later was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to commit murder. White faces the same charges in federal court.
The FBI has jurisdiction over felonies on Indian reservations and investigated the shoot-out, assisted by tribal police.
Witnesses at the time told the Herald it was a shoot-out, with guns held and/or fired by the men on both sides. But the FBI has alleged only that Clark and White likely fired weapons and has not commented on whether the three brothers fired any shots or if Cruz or White were hit.
The two injured men, DeMarrias and Spears, were hospitalized in Fargo and Bemidji, respectively, and released after several days.
The dispute between the two groups of men allegedly stemmed from a home invasion and burglary involving the three brothers in which Clark's toddler son was threatened.
Clark and White had fled the scene of the shooting Nov. 3 in an SUV and had been fugitives since.
Boelter said Red Lake police and FBI agents were following up a lead Saturday in Redby at about 11 p.m. when they spotted a white Pontiac Grand Prix drive past that looked like the one driven by Jerilee Head, Clark's girlfriend and an early person of interest in the shooting. A Red Lake police officer saw the Pontiac violate a traffic regulation and tried to stop it, but it kept going about a half mile, stopping at the home of Clark's father. Head was driving the Pontiac and Clark was found hiding under a blanket in the back seat.
He is scheduled to appear Tuesday in federal court in Bemidji, Boelter said.
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The search continues for White and the FBI is asking anyone with information about the case to call their office at (612) 376-3200.
