Man jailed, charged with 2020 Cedar Avenue shooting that killed 18-year-old driver in Minneapolis

Six-year investigation leads to second-degree murder charge

A Minneapolis man has been booked into the Hennepin County Jail and charged with second-degree murder in connection with a 2020 drive-by shooting that killed an 18-year-old who was driving on Cedar Avenue South, court records show.

Prosecutors allege that the gunfire was aimed at a male passenger, not the driver. The driver, identified in charging documents as Arionna Buckanaga, was struck in the head and lost control of the vehicle, which collided with a tree near Cedar Avenue and East 39th Street. She was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where she later died.

What investigators say happened on May 4, 2020

According to the criminal complaint, officers responded to a report of a drive-by shooting shortly after Buckanaga and her boyfriend had stopped at a gas station near East Lake Street and 17th Avenue South. Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed an SUV parked nearby at the gas station while its occupants remained inside.

Investigators later located what they allege was the same SUV elsewhere in Minneapolis. The vehicle had been abandoned and showed bullet damage to the hood that investigators described as consistent with shots being fired over the hood and striking the shooter’s own vehicle.

• Police recovered 32 discharged 9mm cartridge casings at the shooting scene.
• Two handguns were later found in a compost bin and were forensically linked to the shell casings, the complaint alleges.
• DNA collected from the SUV was tested and linked to the charged defendant and a second man described as an alleged accomplice.

How the case came together years later

The complaint outlines a case built from physical evidence, witness cooperation, and statements investigators say were made by the suspected shooters over time. Investigators reported that a man came forward roughly five years after the killing and said the defendant had admitted involvement the day after the shooting, offering details that investigators considered corroborating.

On Feb. 17, 2026, police interviewed the alleged accomplice while he was in a federal prison in Kentucky on a drug conviction. Investigators say the accomplice admitted firing from the passenger seat, abandoning the SUV, and disposing of the guns.

Prosecutors allege the charged defendant later admitted he was driving the SUV and aiming at the passenger but did not know a woman was also inside the targeted vehicle.

Court status and potential additional charges

The defendant, identified as Malcolm Chan Johnson, 33, of Minneapolis, was charged on March 5, 2026. Jail records and the complaint indicate he was booked March 3 and interviewed the next day. Court filings indicate bail was set at $500,000, and an April 17, 2026, court appearance is scheduled.

Prosecutors have also indicated they are evaluating whether additional charges are warranted against the second suspected shooter.

Under Minnesota law, a criminal charge is an allegation. Johnson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.