St. Paul man sentenced to 13 years in prison for deadly shooting outside tobacco shop
E'shaun Maurice Funches pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm last month for the Dec. 13, 2023, shooting.
Court documents say Funches' prison sentence will be followed by 6.5 years of probation.
The shooting happened at a store on the 400 block of University Avenue. Police said multiple callers reported hearing two or three gunshots.
The complaint says that when officers arrived, they found the victim, later identified as 30-year-old Alfonzo Armstead, with gunshot wounds in his back, abdomen and leg. He was semi-conscious when they arrived, and said he couldn't breathe before losing consciousness altogether. He was taken to Regions Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A police sergeant witnessed a possible suspect running immediately after the shooting, where he stopped the man and took him into custody. According to the complaint, he was carrying clothing and appeared to be trying to discard them into a dumpster. Those pieces of clothing matched those of the shooter, as caught on surveillance video.
He allegedly told officers he found the clothes, and when further asked why he would have been trying to throw them away, he is alleged to have told investigators that he was trying to throw away candy wrappers, not the clothes.
Survelliance footage allegedly captured Funches exiting a Nissan Rogue right before the shooting. Investigators eventually found the vehicle's owner, who said she and her boyfriend had picked Funches up at a White Castle on Rice Street. She explained that Funches and her boyfriend had been friends for years.
Near University Avenue and Arundel Street, she says Funches got out of the car and shot a man. She went to check on the man who had been shot, but she "didn't know what to do," according to charging documents. Her boyfriend told investigators they were "distraught" over the incident and called the police.
Funches has a prior conviction of felony second-degree aggravated robbery, which bans him from owning a firearm.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Police charge man in violent jewelry robbery in Richmond Hill
Police have charged a foreign national and are looking for two other individuals allegedly involved in a violent distraction robbery that took place last month in Richmond Hill. York Regional Police (YRP) initially responded to a collision in a plaza parking lot near Yonge Street and Canyon Hill Avenue around 11:15 a.m. on July 15. Officers found a 78-year-old woman who had been violently robbed of jewelry, YRP said in a news release on Friday. The suspect fled the scene in a rental white 2024 Nissan Rogue before police arrived, they say. Police are looking for two additional suspects, a man and a woman, who they say were also in the car at the time of the robbery. The man charged is believed to be part of a criminal network of foreign nationals operating in York Region, YRP said in the release. Police are urging people to protect themselves by staying alert, keeping their valuables safe and taking caution in situations where strangers are "being overly friendly or asking for directions while closing the distance on your person space." Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Men firing rifles at targets miss, hit driver on Interstate 35
Men firing rifles at targets miss, hit driver on Interstate 35 originally appeared on Bring Me The News. A driver was shot in the leg as he drove south on Interstate 35 in Minnesota, with police learning that the bullet came from a group of men shooting at targets on a nearby property. The incident happened around 10:40 a.m. on I-35 near Harris, with a passenger calling 911 to report the driver, a 48-year-old Duluth man, had been shot in the leg by a bullet that entered through the driver's side door. Deputies arrived in the area and reported "hearing gunfire consistent with rifle target shooting," according to the Chisago County Sheriff's Office. A canvass of the area and the use of a police drone led police to a private property along I-35 where three men were found shooting rifles "at a target positioned in the direction of the interstate." The three men are reportedly cooperating with police. The distance from the point of firing to where the victim was struck is about 1,500 feet. The driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Three passengers in the vehicle were not injured. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Aug 7, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Man shot in the leg while driving on Interstate 35 north of Twin Cities
A man is recovering after being shot in the leg while driving on Interstate 35 north of the Twin Cities on Thursday morning. A passenger in the vehicle called 911 around 10:40 a.m., saying a bullet entered the car through the driver's side door, hitting the driver's leg. They had been traveling southbound on I-35 near the Harris exit, about 50 miles north of Minneapolis. Deputies arrived in the area and reported hearing gunfire consistent with rifle target shooting. Authorities began to canvas the area on foot and by drone to pinpoint the source of the gunfire. Law enforcement located three men doing target practice on a private property along I-35. The target had been positioned in the direction of the roadway, according to the sheriff's office. The three men are cooperating with law enforcement. Authorities say the estimated distance between where the men had been shooting and where the victim was shot is over 1,500 feet. The victim, a 48-year-old man from Duluth, Minnesota, suffered injuries that are not considered life-threatening. He was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul for treatment. The other three occupants of the vehicle were uninjured. The incident remains under investigation by the Chisago County Sheriff's Office along with the Minnesota State Patrol and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
