As a man charged with murdering a University student sat in jail on $1 million bail, charges were dismissed Thursday against another man accused of helping him after the murder.
Reginald G. Hammond, 25, was charged with aiding Louis Cardona Buggs by sending him money and obstructing police efforts to find him after the murder.
Buggs is charged with murdering University student Kami Talley in February and now faces life in prison if found guilty.
Buggs, 23, had his first Minnesota court appearance July 5, after being extradited from Virginia. Police and FBI agents arrested him there after finding him at the home of relatives in late April.
On Valentine’s Day Buggs allegedly entered the workplace of Talley, his former girlfriend, and shot her several times in the stomach, according to a Hennepin County criminal complaint.
Talley, 22, was still alive when police arrived and told them Buggs shot her, according to the complaint.
Buggs, who had a child with Talley, left the state after the incident and led police on an international search through Minnesota, Texas, Mexico and Virginia. Police were able to trace Buggs to Texas and Mexico after tapping Hammond’s phone.
While Buggs was in Mexico he contacted Hammond, who sent him several money orders, according to the complaint. Hammond later denied sending the money during police questioning.
Hennepin County Court Judge Patricia Kerr Karasov said charges against Hammond were being dismissed because it had not been proved that Hammond knew Buggs had committed a crime.
Neither the prosecuting or defending attorney for Hammond’s case could be reached for comment.