Man hospitalized, charged with murder in deadly, drug-related St. Paul shooting
A 29-year-old Minneapolis man is charged with murder in connection to last week's deadly shooting in St. Paul, Minnesota.
St. Paul police say the shooting occurred in the late-night hours of Feb. 2 off Oneida and West Superior streets in the city's West Seventh-Fort Road neighborhood. The victim, a 23-year-old man, was found unresponsive outside of his SUV by police.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office later said he had suffered eight gunshot wounds to the face, neck, chest and right arm from 9mm rounds.
The Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged the suspect Thursday with second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm. He is being held on a $5 million bond.
According to the criminal complaint, 911 callers reported hearing gunshots in the area, with some noting they saw "someone running from a parked vehicle."
A 28-year-old Minneapolis man — who was also arrested and charged Monday with two counts of aiding and abetting second-degree murder in connection to the shooting — told investigators he had initially connected the suspect to the victim for marijuana deals, adding the suspect would then turn around and sell what he purchased in Minneapolis, the complaint states.
Court filings note police found cash and the victim's cellphone inside his SUV. A search of the phone showed text messages between the victim and the suspect's friend just before the shooting.
The friend told police he drove with the suspect and a third person to meet up with the victim. The suspect exited the friend's vehicle, entered the victim's SUV, with gunfire erupting soon after. The suspect suffered gunshot wounds to his abdomen and leg.
The complaint states the friend asked the suspect why he shot the victim, with the suspect claiming the victim "got to shooting" first. The suspect then asked to be dropped off at Regions Hospital.
Hospital officials told police the suspect entered the ER without an ID, phone or wallet. At the time of his admittance, the victim was in serious but stable condition, the complaint notes.
Investigators were able to ping the suspect's phone to both the shooting site and the hospital, according to the complaint. The phone was then traced to the suspect's friend in Minneapolis, who police found driving the suspect's car. Police retrieved a handgun and two phones from the vehicle.
The friend eventually confessed to taking the suspect's phone and 9mm handgun, with the gun later found at the residence of the friend's girlfriend, the complaint states. The friend told police that 9mm ammo found at his girlfriend's residence had been purchased by the suspect.
According to the complaint, the suspect spoke with investigators while hospitalized and denied knowing the victim, denied remembering the shooting or who did the shooting and claimed he was "drunk and high when he got shot" and was "trying to piece it together. The suspect also denied having a phone number and denied he lived in the Twin Cities.
The suspect is being held in Ramsey County Jail. Court filings show he has previous convictions for first-degree robbery, domestic assault and first-degree assault.
If convicted, the suspect faces up to 40 years in prison.
