ST PAUL, Minn — A Maplewood man is facing murder charges in connection with a shooting that took place in St. Paul in August.
On Friday, the Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged 23-year-old Romello Ifonlaja-Randle with two counts of second-degree murder, as well as two felony counts of gun-related charges, stemming from the Aug. 14 shooting death of 20-year-old Marcus Anthony Baker Jr. on St. Paul's Raspberry Island.
Ifonlaja-Randle was taken into custody Wednesday after officers executed a search warrant in Brooklyn Center. Another man was also arrested at the time, but he has not yet been charged.
According to prosecutors, St. Paul police arrived at Raspberry Island just after 9 p.m. on reports of a shooting. When they arrived, charging documents said officers found a man, later identified as Baker Jr., in the back seat of a Chevy Suburban, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Officers at the scene attempted life-saving efforts, but Baker Jr. later died at the hospital.
Investigators spoke with a witness who claimed to be inside the Suburban at the time of the shooting, saying Baker Jr. was playing a song that was allegedly gang-affiliated. The witness went on to tell investigators that a man allegedly affiliated with an opposing gang came over to the vehicle and told Baker Jr. to shut his music off. When Baker Jr. refused, court records say, the man hit Baker Jr. in the face and then shot him with a handgun as he tried to exit the vehicle.
Charging documents say the alleged shooter then fled across the Wabasha Street Bridge.
Another witness who spoke with investigators alleged it was a group of four to five men who approached the Suburban, including the alleged shooter. According to the charges, the witness said the group of men left the scene in a silver Volkswagen.
Dash camera footage obtained by the vehicle parked next to the Suburban revealed a silver Volkswagen did leave Raspberry Island shortly after the shooting, containing members of the group of men who allegedly approached Baker Jr.
Ramsey County prosecutors say authorities recovered one 9mm casing outside the Suburban's passenger door and a spent bullet by the rear passenger tire. According to court documents, witnesses also told investigators that a brown Target bottle carrier with two unopened bottles of tequila was left at the scene by one of the alleged suspects.
Investigators traced the bottles back to a Target liquor store in West St. Paul and connected the purchase with Target Cartwheel and Circle accounts linked to a man seen on surveillance video riding in a silver Volkswagen, and on the day prior, with Ifonlaja-Randle.
During the course of the investigation, authorities learned both the Oakdale Police Department and Minnesota State Patrol had encountered Ifonlaja-Randle in the months leading up to the fatal shooting, both associating Ifonlaja-Randle with a silver Volkswagen that matched the description of the vehicle seen fleeing on Raspberry Island. Further, charging documents say Ifonlaja-Randle's phone records, in addition to the other man's, showed they were in the area of Raspberry Island at the time of Baker Jr.'s shooting.
When Ifonlaja-Randle was arrested, authorities said he denied having knowledge about Baker Jr.'s death. Officers presented him with a "ghost gun" that investigators found on the south side of the bridge, allegedly containing Baker Jr.'s DNA on the muzzle area of the gun, and Ifonlaja-Randle's DNA on the laser attachment. Still, prosecutors say, Ifonlaja-Randle denied knowing anything about the shooting.
Ifonlaja-Randle remains at the Ramsey County Jail. His first court appearance is scheduled for Friday afternoon.
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