Teenager agrees to sentence of nearly 11 years for fatally shooting another teen in St. Paul alley

A teenager has agreed to a sentence of nearly 11 years for fatally shooting another teen in a St. Paul alley.

J’Veon J. Brown, of St. Paul, agreed in Ramsey County District Court last week to plead guilty to second-degree unintentional murder in connection with the death of Antwan C. Watson, 16, on Oct. 10, 2022, in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood.

With credit for time in custody since his arrest when he was 16 years old, Brown can expect to serve about six years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

According to the charges:

Police found Watson with gunshot wounds to the chest about 12:30 p.m. in an alley in the 1000 block of E. York Avenue. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Two 911 callers had reported gunfire in the area about noon.

People at the scene told police that Brown was the shooter.

Video surveillance from St. Paul Johnson High School, where Brown was a student, appeared to show him “him re-enacting the shooting, holding both arms out in a shooting stance. ... The video also appears to show [Brown] mimicking chambering a round into a handgun after these acts.”

A teenager who was possibly involved in the incident told police he was walking with his friends Watson and Brown, and witnessed the shooting. He said the trio were in the alley “to find a car.”

The teen did not know why Brown shot Watson. He said Brown later sent him a message over social media that read, “that’s what y’all get.”

Police seized a 9-millimeter handgun from Brown during his arrest, the same caliber as the shell casings and live ammunition found near Watson’s body.

Brown initially told police he was at school at the time of the shooting. After watching video that showed him running from the alley, he eventually admitted he shot Watson.

Brown said he wasn’t really friends with the other two teens and had heard they were trying to rob him.