A St. Paul man hid in an alley behind his home and fatally shot an SUV driver passing by last week, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.
Charge: St. Paul man hid in alley and fatally shot SUV driver
The gunman’s brother was also charged on suspicion that he possessed the gun after it was used to kill Royce D. McKinney.
Lawrence Danzel Phelps, 30, of St. Paul, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree murder stemming from the death of 22-year-old Royce D. McKinney, also of St. Paul. Court records do not list an attorney for Phelps.
After his arrest Friday, Phelps denied to police knowing anything about the shooting. He was initially jailed in Ramsey County before being booked in Hennepin County in connection with a warrant for his arrest tied to a missed hearing for a theft allegation.
Court records in Minnesota show that Phelps has been in legal trouble throughout his adult life, having been convicted three times each for theft and credit card fraud, twice for violating a domestic abuse no-contact order and once each for illegal weapons possession, felony assault, burglary, possessing stolen property, fleeing police and disorderly conduct.
Phelps’ 17-year-old brother was also charged in juvenile court and arrested on suspicion that he possessed the gun after it was used to kill McKinney. The Star Tribune generally does not identify defendants who are juveniles unless the prosecution signals its intent to move the case to adult court.
According to the criminal complaint, reports of gunfire, a vehicle crash and a horn honking about 10:40 p.m. on June 24 sent officers to the scene, where they saw an SUV with bullet holes had crashed into a tree on the boulevard of Van Dyke Street near York Avenue. McKinney was behind the wheel. Emergency medical responders declared him dead at the scene. A handgun was on the driver’s seat.
Video surveillance from the area captured some of what unfolded: McKinney was driving in an alley between Sims and York avenues, then sped out of the alley moments later. The shooter ran from the alley toward White Bear Avenue.
Officers found nine 9-millimeter spent casings in the alley behind the 1800 block of Sims Avenue, the same block where Phelps’ family lives.
The next morning, police staked out Phelps’ home and saw the teenager arriving through the alley, then leaving a little more than an hour later with a backpack and getting in the back seat of a vehicle. Police pulled the vehicle over and arrested the teenager.
“There is a gun in my bag,” the complaint quoted him as saying to police. “What am I wanted for, murder?” The teen acknowledged knowing that the gun was connected to a homicide but said someone else was the killer.
An analysis revealed to investigators that the gun matched the casings found by police in the alley.
In a follow-up interview, the teen changed his story and said that Phelps stole marijuana from McKinney, who shot at Phelps back in March.
On the day of the killing, the teenager continued, McKinney was in his SUV outside the Phelps family’s home and revving the engine. The teen alerted his brother, who grabbed a gun and ran outside. Several shots were fired.
Phelps ran back in the house screaming that he had to leave. He changed his clothes, left the gun behind and fled. He called his sister, and he said he hid in the alley and shot at the SUV as it passed by.
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