A 20-year-old man was playing a song related to gangs from St. Paul’s East Side when a person tied to a rival West Side gang shot him on Raspberry Island, based on murder charges filed Friday.
Marcus Anthony Baker Jr., of St. Paul, was taken to Regions Hospital and pronounced dead that night, Aug. 14.
Police announced Thursday they’d arrested two men Wednesday in Brooklyn Center. The Ramsey County attorney’s office charged Romello Markell Ifonlaja-Randle, 23, of Maplewood. Prosecutors declined to charge the 24-year-old who was also arrested, saying evidence presented by law enforcement didn’t support felony charges against him.
The criminal criticism against Ifonlaja-Randle includes the next information from police and prosecutors:
Officers were sent to Raspberry Island, the Mississippi River park across from downtown St. Paul, about 9:10 p.m. Aug. 14. Baker was within the backseat of a vehicle and died from three gunshot injuries.
Witnesses said 4 to 5 males approached Baker. One told Baker to shut the music off. Baker asked the person if he was from the West Side and didn’t turn off the music. The person hit Baker twice within the face after which shot Baker when he tried to get out of the vehicle. The shooter ran across the bridge.
Dash camera video from one other vehicle within the lot showed a silver Volkswagen left Raspberry Island after the shooting.
A Goal bottle carrier with two unopened bottles of tequila was left behind by the suspects, witnesses said. Investigators canvassed local Goal stores to seek out out where the bottles were purchased, and located they were bought on the West St. Paul store at 4:23 p.m. Aug. 14. A present card and bank card were used, and a Goal “Cartwheel” promotion was added.
The Cartwheel account belonged to a lady who law enforcement identified as a 24-year-old. Surveillance footage showed her buying the liquor and leaving in a silver Volkswagen.
Goal records also indicated the lady made purchases on Aug. 13, and surveillance footage showed her leaving with two males. One was identified as Ifonlaja-Randle and the opposite was the 24-year-old man later arrested within the case.
Two days after Baker was killed, officers were sent back to Raspberry Island to gather a handgun laying on rocks on the south side of the bridge that connects Raspberry Island to Harriet Island Boulevard. The gun was on the Mississippi River’s rocky shoreline.
It was a “ghost gun,” meaning it had no serial number. A later test firing of the gun connected it to a casing found on the murder scene.
The gun was also processed for DNA and a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension evaluation found Ifonlaja‐Randle’s DNA on the laser/light attachment and Baker’s DNA on the gun’s muzzle area.
Investigators analyzed phone records for Ifonlaja‐Randle and the 24-year-old man, and located each their phones were within the Raspberry Island area on the time Baker was killed.
After police arrested Ifonlaja‐Randle, he told investigators he had not frolicked at Raspberry or Harriet islands. Investigators showed him a photograph of the gun, and he said he’d never seen it.
Police said Ifonlaja‐Randle meets criteria to be considered a member of the Shoota Boy gang, which is related to the West Side.
“In St. Paul, East Side gangs are currently in opposition of West Side gangs,” based on the criticism. “Officers know that rap songs are commonly utilized by gangs to taunt or mock their opposition.” The rap artist whose song Baker was playing “has recently been in social media feuds with West Side gang associates. In St. Paul, there have been multiple murders resulting from an East vs. West feuds.”
Ifonlaja‐Randle has three prior felony convictions — two first-degree aggravated robberies and fourth-degree assault — and every make him ineligible to own firearms.
Ifonlaja‐Randle is attributable to make his first court appearance within the case Friday afternoon. The county attorney’s office charged him with intentional second-degree murder, not premediated, and unintentional second-degree murder while committing felony assault.