Three men have been charged in the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man whose funeral in St. Paul was the scene of deadly gunfire that police have described as being gang-related.
3 felons charged in fatal shooting of man whose funeral in St. Paul was scene of deadly gunfire
Snitch accusation preceded the killing of Casanova Carter, according to charges.
March 21, 2022 at 10:33PM
Second-degree murder charges were unsealed Monday against 23-year-old Montez D. Davis of Brooklyn Park; 25-year-old Kendall D. Pruitt of Minneapolis; and 27-year-old Delaquay L. Williams of St. Paul, in connection with the Feb. 1 shooting of Casanova Carter, 26, of St. Paul.
All the defendants remain jailed in lieu of $2 million bail. Messages were left with attorneys for Williams and Pruitt seeking their response to the allegations. Court records do not show an attorney for Davis. All are due back in court in the coming weeks.
While the charges don't spell out a specific motive, they do say that Carter recently had posted an accusation on social media that Pruitt was a "snitch, and as a result Pruitt and [Carter] were beefing."
A St. Paul police officer assigned to the gun and gang unit wrote in a court filing that Pruitt and Carter were both Hit Squad members, and "this conflict had escalated in recent weeks" leading up to Carter's death, "and they had been threatening one another ever since."
During Carter's funeral on Feb. 21, Agustin Martinez, 28, of Crystal, was shot to death and three other people were wounded in gunfire in the 400 block of Humboldt Avenue outside near Bradshaw Funeral Homes' Simple Traditions location.
Police spokesman Steve Linders has said that department investigators "believe this was gang-related."
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said Monday, "I am pleased that we are able to bring forward charges in this series of violent acts that has impacted many victims and our community.
"Investigators and prosecutors worked to connect numerous complicated dots and devoted substantial time to uncover the truth," Choi said. "Multiple law enforcement agencies helped to stitch the facts together that support our criminal complaints, and the investigation remains ongoing and active."
Williams also stands charged with the March 3 shooting death of 31-year-old Regis A. Jones, of St. Paul, in the 600 block of Blair Avenue in St. Paul. The complaint said the shooting involved a dispute over a gun but did not explicitly point to gang activity as a factor.
According to the charges in Carter's death and other court documents:
Officers arrived about 10:20 p.m. to a home in the 700 block of Winslow Avenue and saw the wounded Carter down in a hallway. He had been shot in the torso, face and neck. Emergency responders declared him dead at the scene.
Investigators recovered 18 spent shell casings from four guns that were fired from outside the residence where Carter's relatives live.
Video surveillance from nearby homes and businesses showed four people entering the yard. Three of them went to the side of the home, where Carter was in a bedroom playing a video game. The fourth went to the drive near the front entrance. Two volleys of gunfire erupted before the four men ran to a Nissan Altima.
At the scene, law enforcement recovered a 9-millimeter handgun that was linked to a shooting about 6:30 that same evening at the Twin Market in the 1000 block of E. 4th Street in St. Paul. Store video showed the gunfire came from the same vehicle that was at the home where Carter was shot.
About 45 minutes later, Pruitt was seen in surveillance video with the Altima and paying for gasoline at a Holiday station on Rice Street. Police also recognized Davis in the video.
Law enforcement collected DNA matching Williams from the exterior siding of the home where Carter was shot.
On Feb. 12, Davis and his sister got "into an altercation" at the Handy Stop gas station in the 700 block of NE. Lowry Avenue. Davis got out of the Altima and opened fire at someone before he was shot in the shoulder and knee. Police located the vehicle nearby, where it crashed into a fire hydrant.
Pruitt has convictions for illegal weapons possession, escape from custody and committing a crime for the benefit of a gang.
Davis has one conviction for aggravated robbery and three for illegal weapons possession. He also has a pending aggravated robbery charge from last year.
Along with his two pending murder cases, Williams has two convictions for aggravated robbery and one each for assault and illegal weapons possession.
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