St. Cloud woman charged with a 2nd fatal shooting; bodies were found on successive days

The 33-year-old is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women.

December 3, 2021 at 9:57PM
Angela Jones (Stearns County jail/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Authorities have now charged a 33-year-old woman with first-degree murder in two shootings of women whose bodies were found on successive days in separate locations in St. Cloud more than five months ago.

Angela R. Jones, of St. Cloud, appeared in court Friday after being indicted by a grand jury on first- and second-degree murder counts in connection with the death of Janesa L. Harris, also of St. Cloud.

In early July, Jones was among four people indicted in the death of 25-year-old Keisa M. Lange, who was shot in the head and found on the side of a St. Cloud road in early June.

Public court records fail to point to a motive in either killing, although law enforcement searched through garbage outside Jones' home and found a note referencing "a woman working for the feds," according to court documents addressing Lange's death.

Jones remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. A message was left with her attorney seeking a response to the allegations.

Officers were called shortly before 9:30 a.m. on June 2 to investigate a report of a dead woman in an apartment in the 1400 block of N. 12th Avenue and found Harris there, according to police.

The indictment said the shooting in Harris' apartment occurred on May 31. Court records say she was shot in the face. Those same records say Harris and Jones were good friends.

Jones' criminal history in Minnesota includes three convictions for illicit drugs, and one each for domestic assault, domestic abuse and fleeing police.

According to court documents filed in connection with Lange's death:

Jones and the other three took Lange to a secluded area off S. Cooper Avenue, where she was shot and left on the ground at the end of a cul-de-sac. Police found her body about 9:30 a.m. June 3. While canvassing the area, investigators found two men who said they heard gunshots between 8:45 a.m. and 9 a.m. and saw a white, four-door sedan driving north on Cooper Avenue.

Authorities determined that Lange, whom they list as without a permanent address, had last stayed at a residence in the 1000 block of S. 5th Avenue in St. Cloud.

During the investigation, authorities discovered surveillance footage showing a white Ford Fusion entering a lot near the 5th Avenue address about 7 a.m. June 3. Another witness told police they saw Lange in the car with the four defendants at a gas station on the south side of St. Cloud about 9 a.m. on June 3.

Police found the vehicle the next day at Jones' residence in the 600 block of N. 8th Avenue. Witnesses at a residence in the 1000 block of Washington Memorial Drive told police they saw the defendants cleaning the interior and exterior of the car using household cleaning products. Jones told authorities that the four defendants burned their clothes and destroyed their phones, according to court documents.

The others charged and jailed in Lange's death are Kenneth J. Carter, 26; DeAntae D. Davis, 23; and Alicia M. Lewis, 36.

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about the writers

Paul Walsh

Reporter

Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

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Jenny Berg

St. Cloud Reporter

Jenny Berg covers St. Cloud for the Star Tribune. Sign up to receive the new St. Cloud Today newsletter.

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