55-year sentence for Newport man who fatally shot woman's ex-boyfriend and wounded victim's cousin

A 37-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to more than 55 years for fatally shooting one man and wounding another in South St. Paul.

Jerome D. Misters, of Newport, was sentenced by Dakota County District Judge Timothy McManus to 40 years on a second-degree intentional murder count and nearly 15 ½ years on an attempted second-degree murder charge.

Jurors convicted Misters on both counts in June in connection with the killing of Matthew Perkins, 33, of St. Paul, and the wounding of a 36-year-old man from Bayport.

McManus ordered the terms to be served consecutively. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Misters will spend the first 36 ⅓ years of his sentence in prison and the balance on supervised release.

"The sentence issued by Judge McManus was warranted in this case given the senseless violence perpetrated by Misters against two separate victims," read a statement from County Attorney Kathy Keena.

Before dawn on Aug. 17, 2020, officers found Perkins facedown on a sidewalk after he was shot five times, while Perkins' cousin, who was shot in the abdomen and upper arm, was nearby in the street, police said.

A woman who was in her home with Misters that night told police that earlier that evening Misters had argued on the phone with Perkins, the woman's former boyfriend. Perkins said Misters had ruined his life, the criminal complaint read.

After the woman and Misters went to bed, he told her he had received a threatening text from Perkins, who was outside the home. Misters ran outside, and the woman followed, the complaint continued.

Once outside, the woman saw the wounded man and then Misters standing over Perkins and shooting him "in what [police] interpreted as execution style," the complaint read.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482