Man admits making illegal purchase of gun that was used in mass shooting at St. Paul bar last fall

A 27-year-old man has admitted in court that he arranged for the illegal purchase of numerous guns from a Twin Cities retail chain, including one pistol that was used in a mass shooting at a St. Paul bar last fall.

Gabriel Lee Young-Duncan, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Minneapolis to conspiracy to make a false statement in the purchase of a firearm in connection with allegations that someone else filled out the required federal form and bought more than two dozen guns for him.

One of those "straw buyer" purchases occurred on July 31 at the Fleet Farm on Lexington Avenue in Blaine. Young-Duncan received the semiautomatic pistol from Jerome F. Horton Jr. and turned it over to someone else. The gun then was used on Oct. 10 at the 7th Street Truck Park bar, where 27-year-old Marquisha Wiley, of South St. Paul, was shot to death and at least 14 others were wounded.

Devondre Trevon Phillips, 30, and Terry Lorenzo Brown, 33, remain jailed and charged with multiple counts of attempted second-degree murder for firing shots in the crowded bar. Brown was also charged with intentional second-degree murder in the killing of Wiley.

According to charging documents, the shootout began over an allegation that Brown abused one of Phillips' relatives.

Court documents say Young-Duncan and Horton, 25, of Minneapolis, worked together to illegally obtain at least 25 firearms. Straw purchases are often made when the would-be buyer is unable legally to possess a firearm or cannot pass the required background checks.

The indictment against Young-Duncan specified six occasions last year that guns were purchased by Horton at Fleet Farm outlets and then given to Young-Duncan: three times in Oakdale, twice in Blaine and once in Lakeville.

Sentencing for Young-Duncan has yet to be scheduled. Horton has also pleaded guilty and awaits a sentencing date.