St. Paul man pleads guilty in 2024 Oakdale standoff where he shot at officers
A St. Paul man accused of shooting at police and barricading himself inside a home for hours pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the incident.
Devione Malone, 26, on Thursday pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree attempted murder, four counts of first-degree assault and one count of illegal possession of a firearm. If the plea deal is accepted, charges against him from two other assault cases will be dropped, but he will still pay restitution for them.
Malone is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 7.
Court documents say police in Oakdale, Minnesota, received a 911 call around 10 p.m. on March 11, 2024, saying Malone was in a car with a woman he had previously threatened and had a no-contact order with, and he possibly had a gun. The woman's 1-year-old granddaughter was also present in the vehicle.
When officers attempted to stop a car with Malone and the woman inside, charges say he drove to a nearby home. There, he allegedly got out of the vehicle and fired a single shot at an officer before he ran inside the residence. The woman exited the car with her grandchild and ran to police, according to charging documents.
As officers were outside, using their squad cars for cover, charges say dash camera footage shows a window opening from the home before Malone fired three more shots at officers. No officers were injured.
After hours of attempted contact, Malone surrendered to law enforcement.
Court documents say investigators recovered a black .22 caliber handgun and spent shell casings from inside the home.
Police say Malone admitted to officers that he owned the gun recovered at his residence and that he carried it everywhere he went. He allegedly said that he thought he was going to jail over the violation of a no-contact order and that he did not remember shooting at officers, charging documents say.
The woman later told investigators in an interview that Malone had come to her home earlier and his "mood was fine most of the day before it changed," charges state. She texted her friend for help, saying she knew she had a gun because he carried one "all the time and everywhere."
The woman allegedly told Malone she needed to get her granddaughter home, so he drove them. As he started to see more squad cars in the area, she says Malone told her, "I'm tired of them following me," and "I'll die before I go back to prison."
Malone has multiple prior convictions and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Note: The video above originally aired March 12, 2024.