ST PAUL, Minn. — A Watertown man is charged with murder in a fatal shooting that followed a traffic incident in St. Paul Friday night.
Prosecutors say Anthony James Trifiletti, 24, shot the victim four times after their vehicles made contact on I-94 around 9:30 p.m. May 1. The criminal complaint details how officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of Burns Avenue on reports of a shooting. When they arrived they found good Samaritans performing CPR on a man who had been shot several times.
That man was taken to Regions Hospital where he later died during surgery.
Trifiletti was still on scene, and reportedly told officers his pistol was in the glove box of his pickup. He said the victim bumped his truck so he pulled off on the shoulder to exchange insurance information, but the other man kept driving. Police say Trifiletti told them the two vehicles eventually pulled over, and words were exchanged. He says the man claimed to be in a gang.
After some arguing, Trifiletti claims the man advanced on him and put his hand under his shirt. At that time, reportedly fearing for his life, Trifiletti told officers he grabbed his 9mm pistol and fired three or four times.
When asked if he could have just driven away or stayed in his truck, Trifiletti reportedly said he could not, as another vehicle was parked behind him, and he also feared the other man was going to shoot him.
A witness who helped perform CPR on the man who was shot says she and her boyfriend were driving by the scene when she saw two men - Trifiletti and the victim - arguing by the side of the road. She reportedly told police that Trifiletti ran to his truck as the other man ran to his, grabbed a gun and opened fire.
She then jumped in to perform first aid, and told police she saw no handgun in his waistband or in the immediate vicinity.
If found guilty Anthony Trifiletti could face a 40-year prison sentence.
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