Seven St. Paul men are charged in unprovoked attacks that occurred in the downtown St. Paul skyway system and a nearby light-rail station this January.
Seven charged in St. Paul skyway, light rail attacks
The attacks were an effort to benefit and further a gang, authorities allege.
March 23, 2015 at 11:43PM
The men worked as a group, and are members of the "notorious" Gutter Block Goon gang in St. Paul, according to charges filed Friday in Ramsey County District Court. The men each face two counts of crime committed for the benefit of a gang in the Jan. 19 attacks.
Charged are: Keanu A. Brown, 19; Michael J. Jackson, 28; Devon Walter Lee Johnson, 20; Rodney L. Johnson, 21; Donald M. McCormick, 19; Jesse J. Moore, 22; and Ramon D. Tolbert, 19.
Four men were assaulted in the attacks. One suffered a broken arm, a second was briefly knocked unconscious, a third was assaulted on a light-rail platform and a fourth was knocked to the ground after intervening in the platform attack.
According to the charges: A 57-year-old man was in the Town Square building downtown with a friend, 24, about 6 p.m. The younger man's friend, 22, walked up behind him and jumped on his back playfully. The 24-year-old jokingly swung at the 22-year-old as they play fought.
The seven suspects approached the three men and asked the 24-year-old if he wanted them to assault the 22-year-old. He declined, explaining that they were fooling around.
Authorities allege that the suspects then ran at the 57-year-old in an aggressive manner. One suspect hit the man on the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. The man got up, but was punched again. One of the suspects stepped on and broke the man's right forearm.
The 24-year-old was also being punched, and was briefly knocked unconscious.
The suspects fled and allegedly attacked another man on the Central light-rail platform at 4th and Cedar streets. A 23-year-old man intervened, and was also attacked.
Surveillance video captured footage of the suspects walking in the skyway, and footage of the assaults on the light-rail platform.
St. Paul police have stepped up enforcement in downtown St. Paul, both in the skyways and on the streets.
Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708 Twitter: @ChaoStrib
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