Minneapolis Man Pleads Guilty to Maple Grove Murder

Rodney Velho, 45, from Minneapolis pleaded guilty to intentional second-degree murder and is expected to receive a sentence of 20 years in prison. Court documents say Velho admitted to arguing and shooting the father of his girlfriend’s children in Maple Grove last April.

A threats of violence case against Velho was dropped as part of the agreement.

The criminal complaint says Kevin Logan, Jr., 31 of Minneapolis, was dropping off his children when he was shot by his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend. Prosecutors then charged Rodney Velho, 44, with second-degree murder in the death of Kevin Logan.

The criminal complaint says Velho and his girlfriend were celebrating her birthday at the woman’s apartment at 11800 80th Avenue in Maple Grove. The complaint says the woman told Velho that the victim, who was the father of her children and who had custody of them, was dropping by with the children for a scheduled visit. According to the complaint, Velho said that would be fine.

Surveillance video showed that the victim arrived with the two children just before 6 p.m. Another witness in the home said the mother of the children introduced Velho to the victim and they shook hands.

However, the complaint says about 45 minutes later, the two men got into an argument in the bathroom. The complaint says Velho pulled out a black, .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun and shot the victim, who stumbled out of the bathroom and fell to the floor in the kitchen. Velho then fired two more shots, the complaint states. The police noted when they arrived that the victim had been shot twice in the chest and once in the abdomen. The victim was unarmed.

The woman said she was calling the police and Velho fled. Surveillance video showed him coming out of the apartment building at 7:10 p.m. Police arrested him in the parking lot, according to the complaint.

The medical examiner’s office says Logan died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Maple Grove