A St. Paul man is charged with murder for his alleged role in a shooting that was the culmination of an escalating feud with his girlfriend’s estranged husband.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged James Edward Hagen, 32, with second-degree murder Wednesday. Prosecutors believe Hagen shot and killed Jonathan Diaz, 35, of St. Paul who was found in lying in a yard in the 800 block of York Avenue with multiple gunshot wounds on the evening of July 1. Hagen’s next court hearing is Friday.

According to charging documents, fights between Hagen and Diaz escalated months before the shooting.

Officers first responded in August 2023 to the same address in the 800 block of York Avenue for reports of a shooting. They found Hagen with bullet wounds to both legs, but he denied knowing who the shooter was or why they fired at him. But Hagen’s girlfriend, referred to as “CD”, said Diaz shot Hagen out of jealousy.

CD later explained that she is married to Diaz, although they separated four years ago. She has dated Hagen for the past three years, and said that he and Diaz “don’t get along.”

Diaz was arrested the day after that shooting. He wasn’t charged because Hagen did not cooperate and prosecutors could not prove a case against Diaz without a reasonable doubt.

Police responded to another shooting at that home on July 1. There they found CD performing CPR on Diaz, who was lying near a garage door in a pool of blood. Diaz was unconscious. He had no pulse and stopped breathing. Officers helped Diaz until medics arrived, but they pronounced him dead at the scene.

Witnesses said Hagen shot Diaz and fled on a bicycle before ditching it to run on foot. Witnesses also said a white Cadillac circled the area after the shooting.

Investigators canvassed the scene and found nine bullet casings — seven inside the garage and two outside. A 9mm handgun with an empty magazine was also found in the garage, and examination suggests it fired the bullet casings recovered from the scene.

A woman referred to as “KA” said she was friends with Diaz, and claimed to be with him moments before the shooting. KA said she and Diaz drove past the York Avenue home earlier that day, and Diaz greeted his son who was outside the home. Diaz picked up KA in a white Cadillac later, returning to the York Avenue home where he asked KA to drop him off. She said gunshots rang as she drove away.

“KA tried to call [Diaz] to see if he’s okay, and she eventually left the area in the white Cadillac,” the charging documents read. “After the shooting, KA saw a white male with facial hair running in the neighborhood and looking behind him as if someone was chasing him.”

CD’s teenage daughter said she saw the incident, but did not want to get her mother in trouble because she believed the mother was not honest about the shooting. When interviewed at police headquarters, away from her mother, CD’s daughter said had Diaz shot Hagen at the same home before — and that Hagen threatened to kill Diaz the next time he saw him.

The daughter claimed to be in the kitchen with CD when they heard 10 loud bangs. Running outside, she said Hagen stood in the garage doorway near Diaz. Diaz was on the ground and shaking. The daughter thought Hagen shot Diaz, and said CD ran towards Diaz as Hagen yelled “I told you I was going to kill him!” She said Hagen fled on a bike afterwards, but was unsure if he took a gun with him. She believes Diaz was unarmed.

Police also interviewed CD’s teenage son, who heard the pops as he cleaned the bathroom. He heard his mother screaming outside, said he ran outside to see Hagen panic and leave on a bike.

When interviewed by police, CD said Hagen and Diaz don’t get along. She said Diaz drives past her York Avenue home to see his son, but Hagen found out and began arguing with her. She said Hagen left after they argued, and she heard bangs outside sometime later. CD said she went outside and found Diaz dying on the ground, but denied seeing Hagen there.

Police arrested Hagen during a July 2 traffic stop. An autopsy by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner found Diaz died from six gunshot wounds to his body. He marked the 14th homicide this year. According to a Star Tribune database, there were 18 by this time last year.

State investigators say that a woman with a gun in a field near her home in North Branch, Minn., was shot by police last week after she did not acknowledge orders to drop the weapon.

Jamie Ann Crabtree, 36, was killed on the night of June 27 during an encounter with officers in a field near her home in the 38900 block of 3rd Avenue. Police said Crabtree was armed with a handgun, intoxicated and suicidal when officers confronted her.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which is leading the investigation into the shooting, released a preliminary rundown Wednesday of the encounter:

Officers responded to a report of a woman, later identified as Crabtree, walking down the street with a bottle of alcohol and a gun in a case. The officers ordered her to drop the gun, which she did not acknowledge.

Officer Kyle Miller deployed pepper ball rounds. Then, at the time Crabtree can be seen on squad car camera video “appearing to point an object at the officers,” officer Duane Southworth shot her multiple times with his rifle, the agency synopsis read.

Nicholas Williams, Crabtree’s husband, told the Star Tribune two days after the shooting that she was on her cellphone at the time she was shot. He added that she would suffer seizures when she drank and had been in therapy for mental illness.

BCA said its crime scene personnel recovered a handgun, a gun case and rifle cartridge casings at the scene.

There is officer-worn body camera and squad car camera video that captured portions of the incident. BCA agents are reviewing all available video as part of their investigation.

Once the investigation is complete, the BCA will present its findings without a charging recommendation to for review by the Washington County Attorney’s Office, which is stepping on for the Chisago County Attorney’s Office in order to avoid an apparent conflict of interest.

Both officers are on standard critical incident leave. Miller has 1½ years of law enforcement experience. Southworth has two years of law enforcement experience.

Since 2000, police in Minnesota have killed at least 240 people, including nine this year and 11 in the past 11 months, according to a Star Tribune database.

Law enforcement in Minneapolis say they are ramping up patrols to promote a “safe and fun environment” for the return of the city’s Fourth of July fireworks display, following gun violence and other disturbances that marred the celebration the past two years.

Speaking at Boom Island, where the “Red, White & Boom” fireworks show will take place on Thursday night, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said his officers and other law enforcement partners will arrest anyone who threatens the safety of the thousands of people expected to turn out for the event.

“If necessary, we will seize all illegal fireworks that are used to endanger the safety of others or other people’s property,” O’Hara said. “Our community has been helpful in the past reporting such suspicious and egregious behaviors. We’re asking our residents to do the same this year.”

Police have struggled to contain chaotic and violent group behavior on the holiday in recent years. In 2022, seven people were shot on Boom Island, a park on the Mississippi River, and fireworks were shot at residential buildings and at moving cars. The Park Board closed the Stone Arch Bridge last year to prevent a redux, but law enforcement still spent the night chasing violent incidents around the city, including multiple shootings and groups of people brazenly shooting fireworks at motorists.

O’Hara said the “vast majority” of bad actors were young people coming to Minneapolis from outside the city, promising that behavior will not be tolerated this year. “If mom and dad don’t know where their kid is, they will find out when we tow their Mercedes Benz,” he said.

In addition to the extra officers, Hennepin County Sheriff Witt said increased deputies will be patrolling on the road and in the river. Witt said more drownings have occurred this year so far than all of 2023, and deputies will be “aggressively” looking for drunk boaters and drivers.

Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto said officers from his department will be patrolling along the river Thursday night. Several roads will be closed, including a section of West River Parkway near the river, and Main Street on the east side of the river. Parking at Boom Island will be closed, other than for people with disability permits, starting at 10 a.m., he said.