St. Paul police arrest man suspected of fatally shooting 2 outside memorial service

Police on Thursday arrested the man they suspect opened fire outside a memorial service in St. Paul last week, killing two people and wounding three others.

The shooting occurred about 5:15 p.m. Saturday in the 500 block of N. Dale Street, outside Kings Crossing by Episcopal Homes, a subsidized apartment complex for seniors. A group met in the community room for the memorial before filtering out to the parking lot, where the shots were fired.

The two people killed were identified a few days later by police as Troy Kennedy, 37, of St. Paul, and Larry Jiles Jr., 34, of Hugo, a chef who was catering the event.

The suspected shooter, a 52-year-old man from St. Paul, was arrested just after noon on Thursday at a hotel in Bloomington, and booked into jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, said police spokeswoman Alyssa Arcand. The man has yet to be charged. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.

His criminal history in Minnesota includes a conviction in Ramsey County for aiding and abetting second-degree murder in 1993 by acting as the shooter's getaway driver during a robbery.

Numerous new details about the events leading up to and after Saturday's shooting were disclosed by police in a search warrant affidavit filed Wednesday that gave them court permission to collect evidence from various vehicles that were hit by gunfire.

According to the affidavit:

Police were alerted to gunfire having wounded several people outside the gathering and arrived to find Jiles down in the parking lot and "suffering from a gunshot wound to his neck/head area." He was pronounced dead while in an ambulance. A private citizen drove Kennedy to United Hospital in St. Paul, where he was pronounced dead.

A man suffering from a life-threatening gunshot was taken to Regions Hospital in a private vehicle and was in critical condition early Wednesday. Medics brought a wounded woman to Regions, while a second woman who was shot was taken to United in a private vehicle. Officials have not disclosed their conditions.

Two people at the event told police they saw the gunman shoot Jiles and then continue "to shoot recklessly at everyone," the affidavit read. One of the witnesses later identified the 52-year-old alleged shooter by name for police after reviewing a photo lineup.

A woman who planned the event said that Jiles, her nephew, started telling people about 5 p.m. that it was time to leave, but some of the attendees were not departing. Jiles more sternly repeated his directions to depart.

Moments later, arguing began on a patio adjoining the community room and continued into the parking lot. The event planner heard gunshots and saw the gunman she knew standing over Jiles, who quickly got in an SUV and left.

Police reviewed United Hospital surveillance video that captured the shooter arriving in the SUV, leaving two females there and then driving off. The affidavit did not say whether either woman was among the wounded.

Friends and relatives said Jiles was a beloved Centerville business owner known as Chef Hot Hands.

"Larry was a lot of things to a lot of people," the Quad Area Chamber of Commerce posted on Facebook next to a photo of him grinning in a white chef's coat at the ribbon-cutting for his gourmet takeout restaurant. "He brought energy and heart to this community along with his delicious food."

The shooting occurred less than 24 hours after three teens were wounded in a drive-by shooting at a funeral reception for Devin Scott, a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed to death Feb. 10 at Harding High School. A longstanding feud between two rival cliques in St. Paul — dating to the killing of 16-year-old Antwan Watson last fall — is thought to have motivated Friday night's drive-by shooting, said Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher.

Despite some similar circumstances, police say there's no evidence to suggest the incidents last Friday and Saturday night were connected.