Derrick Deangelo Catchings, Charged In Murder Of Rayjon Gomez, Also Alleged To Be Involved In Spring Lake Park Motel Shooting...

Mug shot, therefore public domain, blog post by John Hoff

Derrick Deangelo Catchings, age 16, has been certified to stand trial as an adult in the murder of 13-year-old Rayjon Gomez. This blog previously reported on the grand jury indictment, which contained some nuggets of information but not the name of the accused. But with Catchings now certified to stand trial as an adult, his name has been released to media, including Johnny Northside Dot Com. The mainstream media have already barfed up the press release for the consumption of the public. It is up to this blog to dig deeper.

Off With Their Heads

The timing of this announcement by the Hennepin County Prosecutor shows exquisite political instincts. Shock and outrage is at an all-time-high immediately following the murder of Nizzel George, age 5, innocently sleeping on his grandmother's "big green couch."

So certifying 16-year-old Derrick D. Catchings (who was 15 at the time of the Gomez murder) to stand trial in the killing of a 13-year-old wannabe gang member might not have been a popular move prior to June 26. But the death of Nizzel George changes the political climate.

Charge them! the voting demographic cries. Get the gun-toting baby killers off the streets FOREVER, even if they are little more than children themselves. This blog agrees with these sentiments, but it would be more cost-effective to applaud social workers removing children from dysfunctional homes rather than prosecutors cleaning up legal details after children are dead and buried.

A Sibling Crime Spree By Catchings And Brother Henderson (Allegedly)

Within a short time after Catchings' name was released, my ever-vigilant reader base began digging up info and posting it in comments. Turns out Catchings and his (reported) brother, Pierre Tyshaun Henderson, were involved (reportedly) in a vicious and violent incident in a hotel room in Spring Lake Park, click here.

The incident happened in August of 2011 and resulted in...



...Catchings being certified as an adult to stand trial, even BEFORE this most recent certification as an adult in the Rayjon Gomez murder trial. The charges are in Anoka County and, in one of life's funny little quirks, the suspects were arrested in Benson, Minnesota, the county seat of Swift County. I know that rural area like the back of my hand. Oh, my word, what kind of inner city thug would be crazy enough to go out there amid the cornfields and try to lay low?

According to an article in the Swift County Monitor-News, click here, local law enforcement were able to determine Henderson's cell phone signal was in the city of Benson. In fact, they were able to narrow it down to a particular town home in an area called Nevada Square in Benson.

Wow. That is some serious technological magic.

Mug shots, therefore public domain, Pierre Tyshaun Henderson

Pierre Henderson, THIS IS YOUR LIFE

Here is Henderson's rap sheet, as follows:

27-JV-08-11833
Henderson, Pierre Tyshaun
11/02/1991
09/30/2008
- Hennepin Juvenile
Delinquency Felony (Age 16 and Older)
Closed
Burglary-4th Deg-to Commit Misdemeanor

Found guilty. Adjudicated delinquent. Two years supervised probation and 20 hours of community service.

Yes, I said HOURS, not DAYS.

27-JV-09-5044
Henderson, Pierre Tyshaun
11/02/1991
05/08/2009
- Hennepin Juvenile
Delinquency Felony (Age 16 and Older)
Closed
Burglary-2nd Degree-Dwelling

Looks like this resulted in more probation. Interestingly, there was an order for DNA analysis.

27-JV-09-7739
Henderson, Pierre Tyshaun
11/02/1991
07/16/2009
- Hennepin Juvenile
Delinquency Felony (Age 16 and Older)
Closed
Burglary-2nd Degree-Dwelling

Guilty. More probation, it looks like.

27-CR-10-22193
Henderson, Pierre Tyshaun
11/02/1991
05/18/2010
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Bush, Philip D.
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Dormant
Burglary-Second Degree

Convicted. Got 4 years probation. That probation was supposed to go all the way to 2014.

Got 90 days in the workhouse. Appears to have served FIVE. Still owes $50 on this case and the last two things to happen were a warrant issued in August of 2011 and the account was "sent to collections."

02-CR-10-7844
Henderson, Pierre Tyshaun
11/02/1991
10/04/2010
Anoka
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
Aid/Abet Burglary-2nd Degree-Dwelling
02-CR-11-6338
Henderson, Pierre Tyshuan
11/02/1991
08/25/2011
Anoka
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
Attempt to Commit - Murder -1st Degree - Premeditated
Attempt to Commit - Murder -1st Degree - Premeditated
Assault-2nd Degree-Dangerous Weapon
Assault-2nd Degree-Dangerous Weapon

Pled guilty on June 5 to both the 2nd degree assault charges, the other charges were dismissed. Looks like he got 39 months plus 60 months with credit for 284 days served. However, the MNDOT "offender locator" shows he will be released on Christmas Day, 2014 and will be on supervised release until August 24, 2016.

The mug shot above shows him at his current location, the prison in St. Cloud.

Where Are The Parents? No, Wait, WHO Are The Parents? Their addresses? Their DOBs?


This blogger would be incredibly interested to know who the parents are of Catchings and Henderson, so I can look into THEIR records, if any. (It's good form to add "if any" but, well, waste of ink if you ask me)

This blogger closes with another big THANK YOU to readers who send info, either in emails or through the comments function. This wouldn't be the same blog without you. Please keep it up.