Teen killed on St. Paul river bluff implicated in robbery earlier that day

Early on the day he was shot and killed on a St. Paul river bluff by a man he allegedly tried to rob, Lavauntai Broadbent, 16, robbed another man at gunpoint at an East Side bus stop, charges say.

Juvenile court petitions filed Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court against four of Broadbent's alleged accomplices also link members of the group to the theft of a car on the East Side last Thursday or Friday — a car that contained two loaded Smith & Wesson handguns.

The petitions spell out a day of crime on Friday that began with a 4:40 a.m. report about a car being stolen on E. 6th Street, and ended with Broadbent's shooting death about 10:30 p.m. near Summit Avenue and Mississippi River Boulevard by a man at whom he had pointed a gun and said: "Empty your pockets."

The man, identified by the initials "K.L.," had a permit to carry a gun. He told police that he feared that he and a female college student with whom he had struck up a conversation "were going to be killed," the charges say.

Broadbent, who approached K.L. wearing a mask and gloves, fell face down on some bluff rocks at Monument Park after being shot. There, K.L. took off his shirt and applied pressure to the wounds, but the West St. Paul teen was pronounced dead a short time later.

Among his last words: "I dropped the gun."

K.L., who went to the bluffs to watch the blue moon, carried his holstered gun, he told police, because he recently had been assaulted while walking home from a grocery store.

The juvenile court petitions were filed against Malcolm James Devion Golden, 17, of St. Paul; Kendell Anthony Lewis, 16, of St. Paul; Donte Edward Foster, 16, of Woodbury; and Nautica Delshaun Cox, 16, of St. Paul. Each is accused of aggravated robbery and felony theft of a motor vehicle.

Prosecutors also filed motions seeking to try the teens as adults.

The four-page petitions quote Foster as saying that he was with Broadbent when he robbed a man at a Maryland Avenue bus stop about 4:50 a.m. Friday. Lewis reportedly admitted giving the gun before the robbery to Broadbent, whom he referred to by his nickname, "Man Man."

That victim, identified by the initials "T.L.," said that a male with a mask pointed a gun at him and said, "Empty your pockets" and "Give me everything you have." T.L. gave him $20, a Wells Fargo ATM card, a bus card and a brown leather wallet, charges say.

About 10 minutes before the bus stop robbery, police received a call about the auto theft, which the victim said had occurred sometime in the previous 24 hours.

On Saturday, a police report was filed about the auto theft but contained few details other than it appeared to have involved stolen firearms. Two juveniles were arrested, according to the report, and taken to juvenile detention.

Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Paulos said Wednesday that investigators were looking at connections between the auto theft and weapons, and the attempted robbery and shooting near Summit Avenue. He provided no other details of the incident, however, saying that it was part of a larger investigation.

Broadbent, who was going into his junior year at Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, has been described by family members as a happy teen active in sports who found trouble and needed guidance.

In May, Broadbent pleaded guilty to third-degree riot in a gang-related fight among 50 to 100 juveniles at the Embassy Suites in which members of the Ham Crazy and Everybody Killer gangs fought with members of the Shoota Boy Gang.

The petitions filed Wednesday make reference to Broadbent saying, "On SBG, let's do this," to an accomplice just before the fatal robbery attempt.

Investigators say "SBG" is believed to have been a reference to the Shoota Boy Gang.

Staff writers James Walsh and Chao Xiong contributed to this story.

Anthony Lonetree • 651-925-5036