Boy, 17, pleads guilty in fatal shooting outside St. Paul tobacco shop
A 17-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the September 2024 shooting outside a St. Paul tobacco shop.
Court records show the boy entered the guilty plea in Ramsey County court on Wednesday.
According to an agreement written in the plea, prosecutors will limit the murder sentence to 23 years and seven months in prison, the defense will push for 21 years and nine months and the state will drop charges in a riot case unrelated to the shooting.
The boy is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18.
The shooting happened during the afternoon of Sept. 10, 2024, at a strip mall on Maryland Avenue East near Lake Phalen.
Police say the victim, 22-year-old Davion Lamonte-Paule Brown, suffered from several gunshot wounds in the tobacco store's entryway. He died at the scene.
Surveillance video showed the boy riding up to the strip mall on his bike before dismounting and walking up to Brown, who was standing outside the tobacco store near two other people, charges say. Footage then showed the boy firing on Brown before riding off.
Officers found the boy on foot less than a mile from the store. Charges say he was taken into custody after a brief chase.
Police found a 9mm handgun and a black mask near where the boy was taken into custody.
One witness told police that Brown had bought the boy a pack of cigars right before the shooting since he didn't have his ID, according to court documents.
Note: The above video first aired on Sept. 10, 2024
