Moorhead Drive-By Shooting Suspect, Accomplice Caught in Michigan

Apr 14, 2025

A Moorhead man is facing murder charges after police say he carried out a drive-by shooting—killing one person Sunday morning—and fled the state.

Prosecutors have also charged a woman with helping the suspect evade capture after the fatal shooting.

Jerome Anthony Thomas III, 35, is charged in Clay County District Court with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder. Abby Nicole Fredrickson, 32, is charged with aiding an offender to avoid arrest.

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According to the criminal complaints, officers responded just before 9:30 a.m. on Sunday to reports of gunfire in the 2700 block of 14th Street South in Moorhead. They found a man lying in a driveway with a gunshot wound to the head. The man, 39-year-old James Earl Hamilton, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A juvenile witness told police he was standing next to Hamilton in the driveway of a residence when a green Chevrolet Trax with temporary Indiana plates drove by. Thomas allegedly fired three gunshots from the driver’s seat. The witness said he recognized Thomas as the shooter and didn’t see anyone else in the vehicle. A few minutes later, a fourth gunshot was recorded on surveillance video from nearby buildings. A 911 caller who was on the phone with dispatchers at the time also reported hearing the final shot, describing the driver as having dreadlocks and wearing a red sweatshirt.

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A third victim told police she had driven Hamilton and the witness to the home where the shooting took place, but stayed in her vehicle due to a no-contact order with someone at the residence. She said Thomas pulled up next to her, hit her driver’s side window with his fist, then fired a shot at her before driving away. She identified him by name and said he knew what vehicle she drove. Surveillance footage captured the encounter and showed the suspect’s physical description matched what the witnesses had reported.

Police ultimately traced the SUV used during the shooting to Fredrickson, who was listed as the vehicle’s owner. When contacted by investigators, she claimed she had last seen Thomas around 11 p.m. the night before and that her vehicle was at her residence when she woke up around 11 a.m. on Sunday, well after the shooting. She denied knowing Thomas’s whereabouts and claimed she was over four hours from Moorhead with the SUV. After learning about the homicide investigation, Fredrickson told police she would return with the vehicle and call them, but she never did.

PREVIOUSLY: Suspect Sought After Shooting Homicide in Moorhead

Detectives used OnStar to track the SUV to a rural part of Michigan. Fredrickson’s phone was also located there, while Thomas’s phone was traced to Duluth, where it appeared to have remained in one location for an extended period.

A search of Fredrickson’s Moorhead apartment turned up ammunition matching the shell casings at the scene, an empty gun box and a red sweatshirt like the one seen on surveillance. Witnesses in the building said a man matching Thomas’s description had been staying there recently, court documents say. Officers also noted signs the apartment had been left in a hurry, finding food still in the microwave and an unlocked door.

Fredrickson is accused of knowingly helping Thomas avoid arrest after the shooting. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted. Thomas faces up to 20 years on the attempted first-degree murder charge and up to 40 years on each second-degree murder count.

Both were arrested Monday in Michigan and are awaiting extradition back to Minnesota.

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