Latest news with #RamseyCountyAttorney'sOffice
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Charges to be dismissed in St. Paul sexual assault case
A sexual assault case against a 50-year-old accused of raping a man in St. Paul he met on a dating app is being dismissed due to a lack of evidence, according to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office. The charges against John Henry McCaster allege he sexually assaulted a man at a home in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on New Year's Eve 2023 after the two met on the Grindr app. He told police McCaster had insisted that he drink a 'blue drink' and after doing so 'began to feel drunk,' then passed out and awoke naked, the charges say. Police had already arrested McCaster about two hours before the man called police on Dec. 31, 2023. He was picked up in Vadnais Heights on suspicion of drug possession (methamphetamine) and possessing a gun (he was prohibited after having been convicted of a crime of violence) and later charged with both offenses. McCaster was found with the man's driver's license and debit card and other items at that time. McCaster later told investigators they had consensual sex. Police carried out a search warrant at the East Side home and found blue liquid in a pitcher, which was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing. On Wednesday, McCaster pleaded guilty to the gun charge. As part of a plea agreement, the sexual assault case will be dismissed at his sentencing 'given a lack of evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, including the remaining liquid that the (man) drank testing negative for any controlled substances,' Dennis Gerhardstein, Ramsey County Attorney's Office spokesman, said in a Friday statement. The man who reported the assault agreed with the settlement, Gerhardstein said. McCaster's attorney did not respond to a request for comment Friday. McCaster faces a mandatory five-year prison sentence on the gun charge. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15. Maplewood shooting: St. Paul man fired on car while kids cowered nearby, charges say Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant's social media posts undercut her rape allegation Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt Wedding photographer sentenced for surreptitiously recording bride changing clothes Derrick Thompson's trial begins in deaths of 5 women
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Charges to be dismissed in St. Paul sexual assault case
A sexual assault case against a 50-year-old accused of raping a man in St. Paul he met on a dating app is being dismissed due to a lack of evidence, according to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office. The charges against John Henry McCaster allege he sexually assaulted a man at a home in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on New Year's Eve 2023 after the two met on the Grindr app. He told police McCaster had insisted that he drink a 'blue drink' and after doing so 'began to feel drunk,' then passed out and awoke naked, the charges say. Police had already arrested McCaster about two hours before the man called police on Dec. 31, 2023. He was picked up in Vadnais Heights on suspicion of drug possession (methamphetamine) and possessing a gun (he was prohibited after having been convicted of a crime of violence) and later charged with both offenses. McCaster was found with the man's driver's license and debit card and other items at that time. McCaster later told investigators they had consensual sex. Police carried out a search warrant at the East Side home and found blue liquid in a pitcher, which was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing. On Wednesday, McCaster pleaded guilty to the gun charge. As part of a plea agreement, the sexual assault case will be dismissed at his sentencing 'given a lack of evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, including the remaining liquid that the (man) drank testing negative for any controlled substances,' Dennis Gerhardstein, Ramsey County Attorney's Office spokesman, said in a Friday statement. The man who reported the assault agreed with the settlement, Gerhardstein said. McCaster's attorney did not respond to a request for comment Friday. McCaster faces a mandatory five-year prison sentence on the gun charge. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15. Maplewood shooting: St. Paul man fired on car while kids cowered nearby, charges say Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant's social media posts undercut her rape allegation Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt Wedding photographer sentenced for surreptitiously recording bride changing clothes Derrick Thompson's trial begins in deaths of 5 women
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Maplewood shooting: St. Paul man fired on car while kids cowered nearby, charges say
A man with a history of gun convictions was charged Friday with attempted murder, accused of opening fire in Maplewood while two juveniles cowered in fear nearby. Officers responded to an apartment building parking lot at Larpenteur Avenue and McMenemy Street about 5:55 p.m. on April 16. A child had just exited a bus and was waiting to be buzzed into an apartment building when the shooting happened. Surveillance video showed a Chevrolet Malibu entered the lot and drove past a gold vehicle. The shooter got out of the Chevrolet, pulled out a handgun and fired three volleys at the other vehicle. Police found 18 spent casings in the parking lot. 'The volleys were in rapid succession and the video's audio suggests that there was a trigger activator on the handgun making it fully automatic,' the complaint said. Video also showed the child from the bus and another juvenile were in fear as they tried to get into the building. A passenger from the gold sedan got into the driver's seat, drove to Regions Hospital and dropped off a 22-year-old man. The man was treated for gunshot wounds to his left shoulder and left leg. He did not want to talk to police, the complaint said. After law enforcement identified the license plate on the Chevrolet, police pulled over the vehicle on April 22 in Minneapolis. They found Muhnee Jaleel Bailey, 24, of St. Paul, was driving. Bailey was on release from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to a halfway house in Minneapolis, according to the complaint. He pleaded guilty in March 2023 to a federal charge of possession of a firearm as felon. On the day of the shooting, Bailey returned to the house wearing clothes that matched the shooter's, the complaint said of surveillance footage. He was wearing a sweatshirt that said, 'In Glock We Trust.' Police learned that Bailey and a woman resided in St. Paul, and they carried out a search warrant at the residence on Aurora Avenue near Central Village Park. Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant's social media posts undercut her rape allegation Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt Wedding photographer sentenced for surreptitiously recording bride changing clothes Derrick Thompson's trial begins in deaths of 5 women Police looking for hit-and-run driver who injured 2 pedestrians in Falcon Heights Officers found a Glock with an extended magazine, another Glock in a backpack, a pistol without a serial number and ammunition in the basement room where Bailey and the woman stayed. The woman told police that she has a permit to carry and owns a handgun; she said she wasn't aware of other firearms in the bedroom. Police arrested Bailey on Wednesday. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged him with second-degree intentional attempted murder (not premediated), drive-by shooting and four counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited due to a conviction for a crime of violence. In addition to the federal case, Bailey has been convicted of possession of a pistol without a permit, possession of a trigger activator, drive-by shooting and fleeing police in a vehicle, the complaint said.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
St. Paul man pleads guilty to murdering girlfriend in her downtown apartment
A 56-year-old St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend at her downtown apartment in 2023 and will be given nearly 25 years in prison at his July sentencing. Kelvin Maurice Perry pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder on Wednesday after reaching an agreement with the Ramsey County Attorney's Office in the killing of 39-year-old Shaqita Thomas at the Press House apartment building on Nov. 15, 2023. An autopsy determined she'd been asphyxiated. Two minutes after Perry told a childhood friend, 'My girlfriend is gone — she is dead,' he walked in front of a light-rail train and was struck in St. Paul, the criminal complaint says. He was charged with Thomas' murder while hospitalized with serious injuries. Perry entered a Norgaard plea, which means a defendant says they cannot remember what happened because of intoxication or amnesia but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a jury to convict beyond a reasonable doubt. The plea agreement calls for a little over 24½ years in prison. He remains jailed ahead of his July 23 sentencing. Paramedics found Thomas dead in her bedroom after a friend asked the apartment building's property manager to do a wellness check. She was lying face down beneath a blow-up mattress in the bedroom, and had head trauma and small cuts on her body. A friend of Thomas told investigators she had been on a FaceTime video call with her about 11:20 a.m. Nov. 15 and she was crying while a man yelled at her in the background. Thomas told her friend the man was mad at her for spending the night at the emergency room with her estranged husband because of her son's asthma, the complaint says. Thomas' husband, from whom she was separated, said he dropped her off in front of the apartment building on Cedar Street between Fourth and Fifth streets between 10 and 10:30 a.m. Thomas wanted him to leave so there wouldn't be an altercation between him and her boyfriend. An investigator also spoke with a woman Perry had dated. She reported he is a 'very violent, jealous person,' the complaint states. She said she'd talked to a relative of Perry's, who said Perry called people he knew and told them he 'choked' Thomas out. Noah Feldman: David Souter set an example for the Supreme Court Trooper accused of producing child porn faces new charges in federal indictment Minnesota Freedom Fund to stop bailing out jailed defendants Former Tartan band director admits to sexually assaulting DeLaSalle student Witnesses put suspected drunk driver's speed at 90-100 mph before fatal St. Paul crash Surveillance video showed Perry left Thomas' apartment about 12:50 p.m. and that her key fob wasn't used to unlock the door again until it was opened for paramedics two days later. A woman who's known Perry since they were kids said he called her at 11:13 a.m. Nov. 17 and that he 'was crying and panicking' and told her, 'Something is going on,' the complaint says. He asked her to tell his sister he loved her and the call ended. At 11:15 a.m., Perry walked in front of a Green Line train at University and Western avenues in St. Paul. 'Perry has a significant arrest history out of Chicago where he is from and has family,' according to the complaint.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Teen charged in fatal stabbing of St. Paul 19-year-old
After police arrested a 14-year-old in a fatal St. Paul stabbing last month, a 17-year-old now is also accused, according to court documents filed this week. Jay'Mier K. Givens, 19, of St. Paul, was killed in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood in March. An autopsy found he'd been stabbed 22 times, with most of the wounds to his back and one to his neck. Officers responded about 11:30 p.m. March 31 to Sixth Street near Birmingham Street. Givens was found collapsed near an address he wasn't connected with, police have said. Investigators talked with Givens' family and they said he came home about 9 p.m. on March 31, and left later in the evening 'to smoke' with friends who were said to be 'Jeremy' and another teen, according to a juvenile petition filed Monday against the 17-year-old. Police were also told the two teens stayed at a residence a few blocks from where Givens was found. They identified Jeremy Joe Davila and a 14-year-old as residents of the address. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged Davila with aiding and abetting intentional second-degree murder, not premediated. Davila turned 17 on March 31, the day of the homicide. Teen says they texted victim to meet Givens' cellphone showed he received a call at 10:04 p.m. on March 31. There were also multiple text messages between 10:07 and 10:34 p.m., during which someone from the number said they had a stolen Kia vehicle and wanted Givens to come 'smoke n chill.' After police arrested the 14-year-old for a second time, he said they'd texted Givens and 'fabricated the story about the stolen Kia … because they knew it would interest' Givens. He stated, 'that was a coverup' and 'there was no car.' The mother of Davila, who was also the foster mother of the 14-year-old, told police she hadn't seen either teen since April 1, the day that Davila told the family they needed to leave 'because it was not safe' and saying something about retaliation, according to the petition. Investigators interviewed the 14-year-old's girlfriend, who first said she only 'knew of' Givens. She later told police that Givens threatened over Snapchat to kill her 1½-year-old son, according to the petition. The 14-year-old told police that on March 31 — when he, Davila and Givens had met up and were smoking marijuana — he asked Givens 'why he said that stuff' about his girlfriend's son, who he regarded as his 'stepson.' He said Givens pulled a knife on him. Davila, who the 14-year-old said always carried a knife, pulled a knife 'and stepped in to protect' him, the petition said of the teen's account. The 14-year-old said Davila stabbed Givens, which caused Givens to drop his knife, the petition continued. He said he took Givens' knife and also stabbed Givens. Knives, clothing found in basement rafters Police located surveillance footage in a large perimeter around the crime scene. Three people were seen walking in the area starting at 10:51 p.m. on March 31. At 11:08 p.m., surveillance footage showed three people coming from a wooded area west of Harding High School and crossing over Sixth Street to the area where Givens was later found unresponsive. At 11:10 p.m., surveillance video showed two people running from the area. On April 8, police carried out a search warrant at the address linked to Davila and the 14-year-old on Margaret Street between Hazelwood and Germain streets. They found two knives hidden in basement rafters. The knives have been submitted to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for forensic analysis. Police located two sets of clothing hidden in the rafters, and they matched the clothing that the two people were seen wearing in surveillance footage. Police arrested the 14-year-old at his school on April 8. He said he and Davila met Givens between their homes on March 31, but had gone their separate ways. The 14-year-old was released without charges on April 11, before he was arrested again last Thursday. On April 30, Davila's mother turned him over to law enforcement on a previously issued 'probable cause pick-up and hold.' She said she hadn't seen or heard from her son between April 1 and April 29. 14-year-old's journal described murder, officials say Davila told police various accounts of what happened on March 31 and none initially involved Givens. He later said he and the 14-year-old met with Givens that night; he said he didn't remember how he got home. He also said he didn't know anything about the knives that were found in the rafters. When police went to arrest the 14-year-old last Thursday at his temporary foster home, his foster parents said he'd 'grown anxious in recent days' and they provided him with a notebook so he could write his thoughts. Police obtained a search warrant and found the notebook. Related Articles The petition said there were 'multiple pages of writing describing the circumstances' of Givens' murder, including the words, 'Why you aint fight for yo life when I poke u wit dis knife.' When investigators were talking to the 14-year-old, he asked to call his biological mother. Police called her on speakerphone. She asked her son about the passages in the notebook and he said, 'I wrote what I think happened' and told investigators that it 'wasn't supposed to play out like that,' according to the petition. Davila remains in custody and the county attorney's office is seeking to have his case moved to adult court. His attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment Wednesday. A Ramsey County Attorney's Office spokesman said he couldn't provide information about the 14-year-old due to Minnesota data privacy laws.
