St. Paul man is now facing a 3rd murder count tied to separate shootings in Minneapolis

The killings occurred in 2021, 2023 and early this year, according to prosecutors.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 17, 2024 at 2:59PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A 20-year-old St. Paul man is now facing three murder charges in separate killings in Minneapolis in recent years.

Albert Jerome Lucas was charged Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court in connection with the killing of 20-year-old Antonio Vernon Harper of Minneapolis on Nov. 6, 2023, in Minneapolis in the 3300 block of Dupont Avenue N.

Lucas, who has been jailed since May and remains held in lieu of $2 million bail, is scheduled to appear in court early Thursday afternoon. He does not yet have an attorney listed in court records for this latest charge.

Lucas was charged earlier with murder stemming from two other shootings: A mass shooting in February near Chicago and Franklin avenues that killed 34-year-old Pierre Romel Miller of Brooklyn Park and wounded three others; and the killing of George F. Zeon, 19, who was shot in the head in May 2021 at the AmStar gas station on W. Broadway between James and Knox avenues.

According to Wednesday’s criminal complaint, which charges Lucas with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder:

Officers arrived to the scene and saw Harper on the ground suffering from a fatal gunshot wound to the chest.

A witness told police that she saw three males “hugging” the side of a home and looking toward Harper and two of his friends. Gunfire from Lucas erupted, hitting Harper, and the suspects fled in a car. One of Harper’s friends shared with officers that the shooting was gang-related.

Officers saw the vehicle two days later and determined it had been stolen in St. Paul. The driver fled police, but officers soon found the vehicle. DNA on a cigar wrapper inside the vehicle was tested and came back as a match for Lucas.

One of the people allegedly with Lucas at the time of the shooting, 19-year-old Jahon Ronnell Lynch of Robbinsdale faces the same charges. He remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail and is due in court on Nov. 12.

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Paul Walsh

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

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