Star Tribune
Man found guilty of ‘callous’ murder near St. Paul light rail
A man was convicted of first-degree murder this week for what prosecutors called a “particularly callous” shooting at a St. Paul light-rail platform, where the victim was left to die.
A Ramsey County jury found Shawn Tillman, 35, guilty of first and second-degree murder, and unlawful possession of a firearm Monday for the 2022 shooting of Demitri Ellis-Strong, 37. Tillman was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. The state also dismissed four cases pending against Tillman which charged him with aggravated robberies and assault with a deadly weapon in the weeks leading to Ellis-Strong’s murder.
The verdict ends a two-week trial where prosecutors tied Tillman to Ellis-Strong’s 2022 shooting death on a light rail platform in downtown St. Paul. They called the murder “particularly callous.”
“Yesterday’s verdict brought some relief and a measure of justice to the victim’s family and our community,” said Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. “We are grateful to the Metro Transit Police investigators, as well as our prosecutors for their tireless work to bring this case to a successful conclusion.”
According to charging documents, Tillman and Ellis-Strong had “a beef” with each other that escalated on May 20, 2022. Tillman approached Ellis-Strong on a light rail platform that morning and shot him multiple times as he tried protecting himself. Tillman fired again and fled the scene when Ellis-Strong stopped moving.
He died minutes after police arrived. An autopsy by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s determined Ellis-Strong was shot six times before he bled to death. Authorities arrested Tillman the next day after surveillance footage and DNA evidence suggested he shot Ellis-Strong.
As Tillman was sentenced Monday, Ellis-Strong’s sister shared a statement remembering him as a man who loved his family and leaves multiple relatives who miss him. Metro Transit Police Chief Ernest Morales III shared condolences with Ellis-Strong’s family in a statement released Tuesday.
“Mr. Tillman committed the most heinous of crimes and we are pleased that justice was served. I want to applaud the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office for their partnership and diligent work to reach this outcome,” Morales’ statement read. “I also want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Ellis-Strong. While this does not ease the pain of losing a loved one in such a tragic manner, I hope the assurance that his killer will remain behind bars for the rest of his life will bring a small sense of closure.”
Ellis-Strong’s death marked the 18th homicide in St. Paul that year.
Star Tribune staff writer Janet Moore contributed to this report.
The DFL candidate for a Roseville seat in the Minnesota House is pushing back on allegations from his Republican opponent that he doesn’t live in the district he hopes to represent.
Curtis Johnson is currently a member of the Roseville Area Schools board. He has owned a home in Little Canada since 2017, according to Ramsey County property records.
In May he filed to run for the open seat in House District 40B, saying he lived in an apartment complex less than 3 miles from his Little Canada home. The district includes parts of Roseville and Shoreview and has been represented by DFLer Jamie Becker-Finn, who isn’t seeking re-election, since 2017.
In a statement, Johnson said he and his wife decided to move to Roseville last year, but they’ve struggled to find the right house. In the meantime, he’s been renting “a Roseville apartment as my primary residence while we keep searching for a forever home.”
“My wife and our youngest child still live in the house because we didn’t want to disrupt our child’s life by moving the rest of the family into my apartment and then moving them again after we found a house in Roseville,” Johnson’s statement said.
Wikstrom released an ad Oct. 15 that accused Johnson of lying about his residency, but he has not committed to making a legal challenge. A residency challenge would be decided by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
“My confidence level is high that we have a solid case he is not a resident of the district,” Wikstrom said in an interview. He noted that Johnson’s vehicle is often at the Little Canada home and a portable storage container appeared out front days after his political ad went online.
An unlicensed driver is now charged on accusations that he was speeding and under the influence of alcohol when he set off a chain-reaction pileup on an interstate exit ramp in Minneapolis, leaving one person dead and several others injured.
Talon Covie-Cardell Walker, 29, of St. Paul, was charged late Thursday afternoon in Hennepin County District Court with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the seven-vehicle pileup about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday after exiting from eastbound Interstate 94 toward Lyndale Avenue.
Walker remains held without bail ahead of a court appearance Friday afternoon. Court records do not list an attorney for him.
A search warrant affidavit was filed in court by the State Patrol that cleared the way for Walker’s blood to be collected to measure his degree of intoxication. Results are pending. The affidavit said Walker was “pushing 100 mph when taking the ramp, [and] it appears no braking took place before the crash.”
Walker was driving without a valid license, according to the state Department of Public Safety. In late 2019, his license was suspended, then it was revoked in spring 2021, the agency said.
Court records in Minnesota show Walker has traffic convictions for careless driving and operating a motorcycle without a license. State records also show convictions for illegal weapons possession, disorderly conduct, a minor drug offense and twice for violating a court no-contact order.
Walker’s passenger, 20-year-old Taniyah Randle-Smith, was taken by ambulance to HCMC with life-threatening injuries, according to the patrol. A hospital spokeswoman said Thursday afternoon that she was in critical condition.
Killed in the crash was Natalie Gubbay, a 26-year-old SUV driver from Minneapolis, whose vehicle was struck by Walker’s. Her passenger, Molly Elizabeth Brenton, 28, of Virginia, Minn., was taken to HCMC with noncritical injuries.
A juvenile has died while in detention at the Red Wing correctional facility in southeastern Minnesota.
Officials with the Minnesota Department of Corrections said staff on Saturday found an inmate who was unresponsive. Authorities attempted life-saving measures, which were unsuccessful. Paramedics arrived and the resident was pronounced dead at the scene, said spokeswoman Shannon Loehrke.
An investigation is underway to determine how the inmate died, she added.
No information about the identify of the deceased was released.
The Red Wing facility has a capacity of 88 inmates.
