Man Charged With Murder in 2016 Drive-By Shooting of Child

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a man suspected in a 2016 drive-by shooting in north Minneapolis that killed a 2-year-old boy.

Thirty-four-year-old Chris Welch was charged Monday in Hennepin County court with second-degree murder in the death of Le'Vonte King Jason Jones.

Investigators have long believed Welch fired the bullet that stuck the boy on July 8, 2016, as he rode in a van with his 15-month-old sister and their mother's boyfriend.
Welch is serving a federal prison term on unrelated gun charges. He's scheduled for release in 2033.

No attorney is listed in his most recent case.

The victim's mother, LeShae Jones, says while the charges wouldn't bring her son back, she's "relieved" that the man accused of killing him would have to answer for his actions.