Sioux Falls, South Dakota Police Arrest Man in October Homicide of Derrick Franklin

Sioux Falls police arrested a man on Wednesday in the October shooting death of Derrick Franklin, ending a 25 day search for a suspect in a killing that officers first answered as a cardiac arrest call.

Detective Cole German announced the arrest late Wednesday. Travis Mondale Moore, 45, was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault. Moore is being held at the Minnehaha County Jail. German said an arrest warrant with no bond had been obtained for the murder of Franklin, and Dakota News Now reported the same arrest and the same charges on Wednesday night.

The October night on East Eighth Street

At 8:26 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, officers were sent to the 1000 block of East Eighth Street, near downtown Sioux Falls, after a cardiac arrest call. They found Franklin, 48, a Sioux Falls resident, dead with apparent gunshot wounds. Police said later that Franklin had been shot twice, that life saving efforts at the scene did not succeed, and that a coroner had ruled the death a homicide.

The case stayed quiet in its first days. Sioux Falls law enforcement was aware of the shooting earlier in that week but shared no information publicly until a police briefing on Thursday, Oct. 15. Reporters who asked about the homicide on the Wednesday before that briefing received no response from the department.

Twenty five days without an arrest

At the Oct. 15 briefing, German told reporters the department had multiple suspects but had made no arrest. He said he believed the shooting was an isolated incident that posed no danger to the public, and he asked people to exercise caution while the investigation continued.

German credited the long investigation in Wednesday's announcement. "The Sioux Falls Police Department has dedicated a substantial amount of time and resources to further this investigation in connection with community partners," he said in a press release. "With these daily efforts and partnerships, an arrest warrant with no bond was obtained for the murder of Derrick Franklin."

Wednesday's announcement did not say where Moore was taken into custody. It also did not say whether investigators are still looking for anyone else in the case.

What happens next

Police said more information about the homicide case will be shared at the department's regular media briefing at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. The department has not said what evidence led investigators to Moore, and it has not released a motive. The charges against Moore are allegations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.