Star Tribune
17-year-old charged with murdering North St. Paul man linked to ghost gun operation
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with shooting and killing a man at a North St. Paul apartment, where police believe the victim was manufacturing ghost guns using a 3-D printer.
Abo Eshun Essilfie faces one count of second-degree murder in the death of Anthony Rojas, 24, who was killed June 19 in his apartment. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office has indicated it plans to have the teenager’s case moved to adult court.
A confidential informant told police that Essilfie and 19-year-old Octavion Rayshawn Jones were supposed to rob Rojas of his ghost guns, but that Essilfie shot him, according to the juvenile petition.
Jones and two other 19-year-olds — La Vida Rose Martinez and Steven Terry — have each been arrested and charged with aiding and abetting murder in the case.
Police responded shortly after 6 p.m. and went to Rojas’ apartment in the 2100 block of McKnight Road N. Officers found a black shotgun and a bulletproof vest in the hallway of the apartment unit, and Rojas was found farther down the hallway with a gunshot wound, according to the petition.
Neighbors, who had heard a shot, then saw several people running from the building, some carrying guns. Rojas was pronounced dead shortly before 7 p.m.
Officers found bags containing 15 3-D-printed ghost handguns and three long guns discarded near the apartment building, according to a search warrant affidavit by a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension officer. Gun parts were scattered throughout Rojas’ apartment, and police suspect the apartment was used to manufacture and distribute unlicensed guns, the officer wrote.
Jones told police that “everyone” at the apartment had guns, and that they were passing them around, the petition alleges. Jones said he went to the bathroom when he heard a loud bang.
Upon exiting the bathroom, Jones said Essilfie “gave him a look and told him to grab a bag full of guns,” the petition alleges.
Essilfie was arrested Friday while entering a vehicle, according to the petition which doesn’t specify his residence. Police found a .40-caliber handgun inside the passenger compartment, which is the same caliber of gun they believe was used to kill Rojas. The gun was stolen from somewhere in St. Paul, the petition says.
Investigators tracking Jones’ cellphone found it was at Rojas’ apartment until just after Rojas was shot, the charges allege. Martinez allegedly told police that Jones was in Rojas’ apartment when he was shot.
When the Minnesota Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal by the University of St. Thomas regarding the environmental impact of its new hockey/basketball arena under construction, neighbor and arena foe Dan Kennedy said the “ethical” thing for the university to do was stop construction until neighbor concerns are addressed.
Not going to happen, university officials said Thursday.
While a public review of a revised Environmental Assessment Worksheet continues through Nov. 7, construction of the 5,000-seat Lee and Penny Anderson Arena continues. In an e-mail Thursday, a university spokesman said the arena is expected to be completed in fall 2025.
“The University of St. Thomas is aware of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to deny its petition to appeal and is reviewing the potential impacts of this decision,” an emailed statement from St. Thomas said. “Last week, the City of St. Paul published an updated EAW for public comment, and that process will continue. Construction of the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena will also continue, as permitted by law.”
But Kennedy said he believes that decision is not only wrong, but illegal. Because the state Court of Appeals this summer ruled the project’s first environmental review was inadequate, its site plans and building permits are invalid, said the president of Advocates for Responsible Development.
“We need somebody to specifically tell the University of St. Thomas that they must comply with the law,” Kennedy said. “This is an institution of higher learning, with a law school. They should comply with the law.”
Kennedy said he thought the Minnesota Court of Appeals had insisted on exactly that. In August, the appellate court ordered the city and university to conduct a new Environmental Assessment Worksheet. The previous assessment didn’t do enough to study the arena’s potential harm to the neighborhood’s parking, traffic and air quality, the court ruled.
“The reason why is that more sunlight in the morning time helps reinforce waking up, and having less light in the evening is less stimulation,” he said. “So when we’re winding down, preparing for sleep, having fewer hours of sunlight in the evening can help promote that process of falling asleep.”
Akingbola acknowledges that it can be sad to walk out of work or school when it’s already dark out, but in the long run, standard time is the way to go.
The U.S. already tried daylight savings year round in 1974
Despite the medical advice, there have been calls in recent years to make daylight savings time permanent.
Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, tried to pass a bill as recently as 2021 to make daylight savings time permanent, but it did not pass the Legislature.
The U.S. tried once before. According to Minnesota Star Tribune archives, due to an energy crisis, President Richard Nixon passed a law in January 1974 that made daylight savings a year-round thing.
A month into it, the Minneapolis Tribune ran an article saying there were calls to reverse the decision because there were more accidents in the pre-dawn darkness, particularly involving school children waiting for the bus. Under daylight savings time in January, sunrise wasn’t until well after 8 a.m. in Minnesota.
Karl-Anthony Towns may be in New York City, but his heart is in Minnesota.
On Wednesday night, Towns had some sweet seats for a Billie Eilish show at Madison Square Garden with his partner, Jordyn Woods, when she caught him watching the Timberwolves play the Chicago Bulls in a preseason game on his phone. Her video, posted to her Instagram story, made rounds on social media Thursday.
In the video, flames are literally spewing out from Eilish’s stage, lights are flashing all around and others in the crowd are head bobbing. And there is Towns, holding his phone in both hands and muttering to himself as the Timberwolves are down 88-75 late in the third quarter in a meaningless game.
“I promise he was enjoying the concert,” Woods wrote in the video’s caption.
The Wolves would go on to lose that game, 125-123. A nail-biter.
Towns’ trade to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and others stunned the NBA world and all of Minnesota, where he was a beloved player for nine seasons and a leader on a team rapidly ascending toward championship contention.
“It was a lot of emotions,” Towns said. “Some amazing moments and times in nine years of my life in Minnesota, a place that I’ve called home. Guys who are not just teammates to me but brothers. We were like brothers. It definitely was a wild day, definitely coming to work.”
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