St. Paul man charged with attempted murder, assault after firing at officers in Oakdale
OAKDALE, Minn. — A 25-year-old St. Paul man is being charged after police say he fired shots at officers and barricaded himself in a home Monday night.
Devione Malone was charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, three counts of first-degree assault and one count of illegal possession of a firearm.
Oakdale police say a 911 call came in just before 10 p.m. Monday. A caller reported a man, later identified as Malone, was in a car with a woman whom he had previously threatened and possibly had a gun. The woman's 1-year-old granddaughter was also present in the vehicle. Malone had previously been ordered to have no contact with the woman.
Police say they later saw a car with Malone and a woman inside, but when they tried to stop it, the driver fled to a nearby home.
At the home, police say Malone got out of the car and fired a single shot at an officer before he ran inside the house. The woman exited the car with her grandchild and ran to officers, according to charging documents.
As officers were outside, using their squad cars for cover, dash camera footage allegedly shows a window opening from the home before Malone fired three more shots at officers.
SWAT from St. Paul, Washington and Ramsey counties, and other agencies provided support.
After hours of attempted contact, the man surrendered just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Court documents say officers recovered a black .22 caliber handgun and spent shell casings from inside the home.
The woman later told police in an interview that Malone had come to her home earlier that day and his "mood was fine most of the day before it changed." She texted her friend for help, saying she knew she had a gun because he carried one "all the time and everywhere."
The woman told Malone she needed to get her granddaughter home so he started to drive 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 got back to prison."
Police say Malone admitted to officers that he owned the gun recovered at his residence and that he carried it everywhere he went. He went on to say 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.
Malone has multiple prior convictions and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
