DNA FROM SPIT AND DISCARDED CIGARS LINKED SUSPECT TO FATAL GREEN LINE SHOOTING, CHARGES SAY

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Jaquan Darrian Edwards, 30, has been charged with second-degree murder in the October 3, 2026, fatal shooting of a passenger aboard a Metro Transit Green Line train. Reporting on the criminal complaint identifies the victim as Joseph Denny Nezperce, 36, of South St. Paul. The charging allegations describe an investigation that combined train and bus surveillance, transit-card information, employee identification and DNA testing.

The shooting occurred around 9 p.m. as an eastbound Green Line train traveled from the Stadium Village area of Minneapolis toward St. Paul. Officers responded at Westgate station near University Avenue and Curfew Street, where the train stopped after reports of gunfire. Metro Transit Police, emergency medical personnel and St. Paul firefighters attempted lifesaving measures, but the victim died. Minneapolis police subsequently investigated the homicide with assistance from Metro Transit Police, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and other law enforcement partners.

According to FOX 9’s November 2 account of the complaint, surveillance showed Edwards boarding at U.S. Bank Stadium station shortly before 9 p.m. Nezperce later boarded and sat across from him. Investigators described an exchange between the men before the shooting. Prosecutors allege Edwards fired three rounds after the train left Stadium Village, then exited at Prospect Park before the train reached Westgate. The reported exchange does not establish a motive or explain what led to the gunfire.

Investigators also examined what the suspect had done before boarding. FOX 9 reported that platform surveillance showed him spitting onto the ground. Officers returned to the platform, located saliva and collected it for DNA testing. That evidence became part of the effort to connect the person visible in the surveillance footage with a named suspect.

Transit-card information and bus video supplied additional leads. Bring Me The News reported that investigators traced travel in the Maplewood area and found footage involving a Hy-Vee and an Advance Auto Parts store. A grocery-store security employee recognized the person in the images as someone who worked at the auto-parts business. Investigators then obtained identification information through that business, according to the complaint reporting.

The investigation also drew on an earlier White Bear Lake traffic stop. Officers had encountered Edwards driving a vehicle registered to his mother and observed him smoking a cigar with a wooden tip. Bring Me The News reported that investigators collected trash from his mother’s home on October 20 and recovered six wooden cigar mouthpieces. According to the charging allegations, testing produced a DNA profile matching the saliva collected from the station platform. The reported match is evidence cited in the prosecution’s case; it is not a finding of guilt.

Minneapolis police and Metro Transit Police announced an arrest on October 30 after a nearly four-week investigation. Their announcement, previously supplied to Minnesota Now, credited cooperation among investigators and acknowledged the loss experienced by the victim’s family. The subsequent charging reports provide details that were not included in that initial announcement, including the alleged surveillance sequence and the collection of biological evidence.

Edwards is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Minnesota Now has not independently reviewed the complete criminal complaint, laboratory reports or current court docket. This follow-up describes the allegations reported from the complaint and the previously supplied police announcement.

Sources: FOX 9’s November 2 report, Bring Me The News’ charging report, and the October 30 police announcement supplied for publication. Read Minnesota Now’s earlier arrest report.