Hibbing Woman Charged With Aiding Brother After Deadly Shooting

Brooklyn Ann Walker allegedly lied to protect her brother after he fatally shot a 24-year-old man in a Hibbing apartment parking lot, and prosecutors say she admitted as much once confronted with his own confession.

Walker, 28, of Hibbing, was charged this week with aiding an offender as an accomplice after the fact. Her brother, Daniel James Dale, 31, of Hoyt Lakes, faces intentional second-degree murder in the Nov. 2 death of Parker Charles Johnson, also of Hibbing.

Johnson was shot outside the Meadowview Apartments, 3535 Ninth Ave. W., just after 2 a.m. Hibbing police learned he had been part of a group that went to a bar that night before gathering at an apartment for an afterparty. The night ended with Johnson struck once in the face and twice in the back, according to autopsy results. Audio from a distant surveillance camera captured a six-second pause between the first and second rounds, evidence that authorities said undercut Dale's account of events.

Walker was on scene and, according to a criminal complaint, initially told investigators she was "pretty sure" Dale was inside an apartment unit when the gunshots rang out and that he said nothing to her about the shooting. She described being at the party when someone mentioned a shooting outside and said she saw her brother inside the unit just seconds later. She told investigators she was panicking, having never seen a dead body before, and that Dale was attempting to calm her down.

At the time, Walker was being interviewed in a separate room by Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents.

Her account changed after Dale allegedly confessed to police. Confronted with that confession, Walker admitted she and her brother had discussed the incident. She apologized to investigators and said she was "scared and didn't know what to do."

Prosecutors characterized her conduct as providing false or misleading information to investigators in an effort to shield her brother from a murder charge. Charging documents do not indicate a specific filing date, and details of Dale's alleged confession have not been made public.