UPDATED: Chaska man arrested in homicide case

A Chaska man was arrested Monday in connection with a Shakopee man’s death on March 13.

Danya Mandrell McKinnie, 27, of Chaska, was arrested and charged for alleged second-degree murder and aggravated robbery following the death of 62-year-old Duane Sorensen, of Shakopee. Charges were filed in Anoka County Court on Wednesday morning, Assistant County Attorney Paul Young confirmed. 

According to a press release from the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, Fridley police were dispatched to the Livinn Suites in Fridley early last Thursday morning for a “medical call involving a male who was bleeding from his mouth.”

Sorenson was unresponsive, but breathing, the release stated. He was taken to Unity Hospital where he died that afternoon. The Anoka County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death as a homicide following their autopsy, the release noted.

Detectives interviewed two people who were also at the Livinn Suites with Sorenson. According to the release, they recalled an “unknown black male being present in the room during the evening.” One of the witnesses indicated that the man had punched her, the release stated.

Based on an investigation, police arrested McKinnie, alleging that he was at the Livinn Suites “trying to sell crack cocaine when an altercation ensued resulting in injuries to Mr. Sorenson,” the release stated.

A 26-year-old woman was also arrested in connection with the incident for allegedly helping McKinnie, a felony offense.

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer