A 25-year-old man has been charged in the July 2022 killing of his mother during an Apple Valley gun battle involving the woman’s ex-boyfriend, Dakota County authorities said Friday.
Billy Joe Pryor Jr. was charged this week with one count of second-degree murder (with intent/not premeditated) in the slaying of his mother, Michelle McGill, 49, of Apple Valley, according to Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena.
The mother’s ex-boyfriend, Willie John Selmon II, 40, of Apple Valley, was also charged this week with second-degree murder (with intent/not premeditated) in the killing.
Keena’s office gave the following details:
On July 10, 2022, police responding to a 911 call about shots fired found McGill dead near a vehicle outside an Apple Valley home in the 900 block of Oriole Drive. She was shot in the thigh, in the chest and multiple times in her lower abdomen, according to the criminal complaint.
When officers arrived, they said, they saw Pryor running toward the vehicle and his mother.
Not long afterward, Selmon, who had left the scene, arrived at the Burnsville hospital with gunshot wounds to the head.
He told police that he had recently separated from McGill after a long-term relationship where they had shared a home. Earlier, he had gone to the home to get some of his belongings. When he arrived and parked, he found McGill and Pryor sitting in separate vehicles in the driveway.
At one point, Pryor, still in his vehicle after moving it next to Selmon’s, told Selmon, still in his vehicle, that he had a gun.
Selmon said that Pryor then fired the gun at him, hitting him in the face. Selmon told police that armed with his own gun, he then got out of his vehicle and ran in front of McGill’s vehicle, hoping Pryor would stop shooting since his mother was between them.
At that point, authorities said, Pryor got out of his vehicle and the two men engaged in a gunfight before Pryor ran away with Selmon shooting as he chased the younger man.
McGill, who was in her vehicle, was shot 10 times, according to an autopsy.
On Thursday, Selmon’s bail was set at $1 million. His next appearance is May 15 in Hastings.
Pryor appeared in court Friday and his bail was set at $100,000. He is scheduled to return to court on May 3.
Pryor and Selmon were both previously charged with assault and firearm-related crimes in connection with the deadly shootout.
