A 17-year-old fatally shot a man, at an accomplice's urging, that he suspected of peddling counterfeit pills, murder charges say.
Jesse Duckett Jr. was charged Friday by juvenile petition in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 5 shooting of Donte Combs, 23, of Minneapolis. Combs died several hours later at Regions Hospital.
The charges come one day after 23-year-old Justyn T. Hosley of Inver Grove Heights was charged with two counts of aiding and abetting murder. Hosley, who has felony convictions for aggravated robbery, burglary and assault, remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. Court records do not list an attorney for either suspect.
According to the criminal complaint:
St. Paul police were called to the 400 block of Thomas Avenue around 10:20 p.m. on a report that someone had been shot. Officers found Combs facedown on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds to his back. He died shortly after having emergency surgery.
Investigators found two spent shell casings at the scene, believed to have been fired from the same gun.
Two female witnesses who arrived with the victim told police that Combs set up a meeting with Hosley to sell him some pills — possibly ecstasy. Another male, later identified as Duckett, walked up to join the men.
When Hosley asked Combs if the pills were fake, Combs insisted they were real. Hosley then said, "Pop him, he's trying to sell us fake [pills]!"
