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The Trust Project
GRAND FORKS — Approximately half an hour before Grand Forks police were dispatched to a suspected homicide in the 1700 block of 36th Avenue South, officers were at the same apartment complex for a reported domestic disturbance, Lt. Andrew Stein told the Herald.
"Officers were on scene — a first time — at 2:22 a.m.," he said. "They checked the area, attempted contact at a couple apartments, but couldn't get ahold of anybody, so they cleared the scene by 2:32."
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A resident who heard and observed some of the incident spoke with the Herald but did not want to be identified. She said she woke up after 2 a.m. on Thursday, March 7, and heard what she believed was an incident of domestic violence.
"I heard a guy yelling, and then a woman yelling," she said.
When police arrived and nobody answered their doors, there wasn't much more they could do, Stein said. Without a search warrant or a reason to believe there was immediate danger — such as someone calling for help — officers cannot enter a residence by force.
After police were no longer on scene, at 2:57 a.m., the witness told the Herald she observed two men and two women arguing in the entryway of the building. The group then ran outside and began physically fighting near the garages, she said.
She said once the group went to the middle section of garages — where one individual was later found dead — her view became obscured.
A second 911 call, at 3:02 a.m., came from the same location — another domestic report.
The witness observed three people running back into the building before police arrived.
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Officers returned to the scene and located the victim, who was later identified in a press release as 24-year-old Anfernee Economy, a Grand Forks resident.
Economy suffered an apparent stab wound to the torso and was pronounced dead on the scene, the release said.
"The cops arrived here at 3:09," the witness said. "They went upstairs, and they were knocking on (the group's) door, and they were refusing to open it."
At one point, a 17-year-old male was identified as the suspect. He was taken into custody and has since been charged with Class AA felony murder, according to a GFPD press release. His identity has not been released due to his age.
No names were attached to the first domestic call, so Stein could not confirm whether the individuals involved in the earlier incident were also involved in the later alleged homicide, but the witness said it was the same group.
The witness believed that everyone involved in the altercation knew each other. She and another resident — Seth Dutenhafer — said they'd seen the group spending time together in the past.
The GFPD's press release stated two groups of people were involved in a physical fight that resulted from a verbal altercation and ended with Economy's stabbing. Police also believe everyone involved knew each other.
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Dutenhafer has lived in the building for a few months and said some of those involved live right next door to him.
"For the longest time, I told my girlfriend that they're going to get in trouble," he said. "This is a quiet building; we're a relaxed building here, and they're the only ones who made a nuisance every week."
Dutenhafer said he did not hear any altercation around 2 to 3 a.m., much like other residents who told the Herald they were asleep for the entire incident.
"That's crazy, man," Dutenhafer said of the young man's death. "Killing someone for something so stupid."
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GFPD at 701-787-8000. Tips can also be submitted through the GFPD's Facebook page, website or the Tip411 app.
The Trust Project
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