Man charged with murder in sucker punch death on Catholic Charities' St. Paul campus

A 37-year-old man is charged with murder in the sucker punch-related death of 62-year-old Isaiah Jacob Wilson last week in downtown St. Paul.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged Jerry Jovan Harris with one count of second-degree murder and a count of first-degree manslaughter in Wilson's death, which happened four days after he was attacked outside Catholic Charities' campus on the evening of Aug. 3. 

Court documents state a security guard at Catholic Charities' Higher Ground shelter found Wilson unresponsive on the ground. Believing he had overdosed, the guard gave Wilson a shot of naloxone, but later reviewed surveillance footage and saw he had been punched.

Police say the video showed a man, later identified as Harris, hit Wilson without any provocation. Wilson fell, hitting his head on the ground.

First responders were able to recover Wilson's pulse after he arrived at Regions Hospital in cardiac arrest, the complaint states. Wilson eventually was declared brain dead and was removed from life support last Friday morning.

Other Catholic Charities employees who reviewed the video recognized Harris from past assaults on campus, court documents state. Harris was charged in an attack that happened on the campus in August 2025, where he "and three others kicked and stomped on another person."

Court records show Harris was convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault in 2023, and had a felony check forgery charge that was on diversion at the time of last year's attack.

Harris is set to make his first court appearance on Friday. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.