A man fired a gun outside a Saint Paul home toward two people who had come to the house, then barricaded himself inside and threatened to shoot police, according to the complaint.
Marlon Mishall Fountain, 35, is charged in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of possessing a firearm or ammunition after a conviction for a crime of violence. The charges were filed October 30.
According to the complaint, police went to the home on October 29 after dispatch received reports of a neighbor shooting in the air and several people fighting outside. When officers arrived, they learned a man had run back inside and barricaded himself.
A man and a woman in an SUV outside told officers the suspect came out of the house and fired several shots. The man said Fountain pulled out a gun and started shooting toward them when he stepped into an argument and that he ran as he heard four or five shots and felt bullets whiz by. The woman told police Fountain fired from about two feet away and the rounds went past her, the complaint says.
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The woman who lives at the home told officers she did not see Fountain fire at anyone. She said she saw him take out a gun and fire four or five shots in the air. Two juveniles who came out of the residence told police Fountain was inside with a gun and had said he would shoot police.
Family members who arrived joined a video call with Fountain, who said he would not come out and was not going to jail, the complaint says. A family member told police Fountain said there would be a shootout if officers entered and that he had turned the gas on in the stove. Police used less-lethal rounds on the front window to air out the unit, then deployed pepper balls and Fountain surrendered a short time later.
Fountain was uncooperative and repeatedly threatened to kill, assault and spit on officers during transport and at the hospital and jail, according to the complaint.
Police recovered three spent shell casings outside the home and 10 live 9mm rounds inside. They did not find the gun. A neighbor’s Ring camera captured the sound of a gunshot and a woman’s voice yelling, “Don’t shoot me!” The video showed Fountain arguing with the two people and the woman who lives at the home, making threats and pulling out a firearm before firing four shots in the air.
Related MN CRIME Coverage
Saint Paul Woman Charged With Stabbing Woman Twice in Apartment • Woman Charged With Biting and Slashing Victim in Roseville • Lauderdale Man Charged With Assault With Handgun
Jurisdictional Context
Ramsey County encompasses Saint Paul and is served by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. Felony cases are heard in the Second Judicial District at the Ramsey County Courthouse in downtown Saint Paul; Ramsey County Community Corrections operates the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood.
