Man charged with murder for role in St. Paul encampment shooting
The man accused of killing another man this summer at a St. Paul, Minnesota, homeless encampment is now facing a second-degree murder charge, according to a criminal complaint filed earlier this week.
A spokesman for the Ramsey County Attorney's Office says the 22-year-old suspect from Aitkin is making his first appearance in court on Wednesday for the death of 37-year-old Steffon T. Jennings of St. Paul.
The shooting happened during the early afternoon on July 20 along Maryland Avenue near Jackson Street. There, police found Jennings, who had been shot multiple times. He died a few minutes later.
An autopsy cited in the charging document says Jennings was shot seven times. The charges go on to say that a piece of paper with a handwritten phone number was found in the jacket that Jennings was wearing at the time.
Witnesses then told police that two men, as well as a woman, had entered the camp shortly before the shooting. Officers were able to find surveillance video that allegedly showed a white Lexus being parked near the camp, and two men, as well as a woman, got out and walked toward the camp just after 1 p.m. Less than 15 minutes later, the two men returned to the car, and one of them drove it a short distance before walking away.
During an interview with police, a man said he was on his way back to the encampment when he heard the gunshots and said he had heard two men and a woman were involved, adding they sold drugs at the camp, according to the complaint.
After towing the Lexus and searching it, police found a wallet with the suspect's ID inside, as well as a prescription with his name. Police say they also found part of a drug ledger.
Later that afternoon, a man approached an officer who was at a convenience store on Maryland Avenue East and asked to shake the officer's hand. The charges go on to say the man passed a piece of paper, saying, "He and his girl did it," and that the phone number on the piece of paper was for the gunman responsible for the encampment murder earlier that day. He went on to say an acquaintance of his gave him the information to then pass on to the police.
According to the complaint, the number passed to the police on that sheet of paper matched the number found on the paper found inside Jennings' jacket.
Police used a database and found the number is tied to the man now charged with murder.
Witnesses told police the group didn't stay at the encampment but were new and sold fentanyl. One of the witnesses confirmed the people he saw leaving the camp as the same people who were shown in a photo, getting out of the Lexus. That same witness said Jennings was shot because the trio "fronted him a 'ball'" and he wasn't going to pay the money back.