Man Fired at Fleeing Driver in Saint Paul Shooting, Charges Say
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A 22-year-old man is charged after prosecutors say a marijuana deal in Saint Paul turned into a shooting that left a driver wounded and fleeing from a crashed car.
The shooting happened around 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, near the Seal Hi-Rise apartment building in the 800 block of Seal Street in Saint Paul.
Clinton Robert Wright III, of Minneapolis, is charged with attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. According to the criminal complaint, Wright is accused of firing multiple rounds at a vehicle as it drove away, striking the driver in the back.
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Investigators say officers arrived to find a red Ford Focus that had crashed into the rear of a parked Nissan Versa. The Focus had a shattered rear window, multiple bullet holes through the windshield and a bullet hole through the driver’s seat headrest. Officers recovered six spent 9mm shell casings near the vehicles along with a pink iPhone, a black backpack and multiple heat-sealed packages of marijuana inside the car.
Witnesses reported seeing a tall, light-skinned Black male run from the area immediately after the shooting.
A woman later contacted police and said her son, identified in court documents as MSB, had been driving the Focus. The victim told investigators he went to the location to sell marijuana to someone he had met while playing basketball and had communicated with through Instagram. He said the buyer entered the car wearing a large puffer jacket and began grabbing packages of marijuana from his lap.
According to the complaint, the victim pulled out a pocketknife and told the man, “No, we are not doing this,” attempting to stop the theft. The man exited the vehicle and said, “My fault—my fault,” before the driver began to pull away. The victim told investigators he then saw the man aiming a gun in his rearview mirror as shots were fired into the car.
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The driver fled after the vehicle crashed and later showed officers a gunshot wound to the center of his back. Clothing he wore during the incident contained holes consistent with a bullet passing through it. He denied having a firearm and said all of the shell casings came from the shooter.
Surveillance video from the building showed Wright leaving a stairwell shortly before the shooting wearing a black Canada Goose jacket and carrying a black backpack. Minutes later, video captured him running back into the building without the backpack while holding what investigators described as a silver and black handgun. Authorities say Wright used his mother’s key fob to reenter the building.
The victim later identified Wright in a photo lineup as the person who shot him.
Officers arrested Wright during a traffic stop while he was riding in a vehicle driven by his mother. Investigators recovered the jacket seen in surveillance video from the seat where Wright had been sitting. Search warrants executed at apartments connected to Wright’s mother led to the recovery of a Springfield 9mm handgun and a magazine stored in a tote bin at a residence on Harriet Avenue.
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After being advised of his rights, Wright agreed to speak with investigators. According to the complaint, he claimed he went outside to sell marijuana and said the other man produced a gun first. Wright told investigators he knocked the gun away, jumped out of the car and began shooting as the vehicle drove off because he feared the other man would pick the gun back up and shoot him. He told investigators the other man never fired at him. Wright later said he threw the firearm he used into the Mississippi River the following day and denied there were guns inside the apartments searched by police.
Prosecutors allege Wright fired at the victim while he was pending trial on gross misdemeanor gun charges in Hennepin County. Court records show Wright had been charged in May 2025 after officers found him slumped behind the wheel of a running vehicle in Robbinsdale. Police reported his speech was slurred and that he was unsteady on his feet. Officers recovered pills later identified as Xanax, and testing showed alprazolam and THC in his blood. The felony drug possession charge was later dismissed, while Wright was convicted of misdemeanor driving while impaired in October 2025.
The attempted murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The assault charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years. Records show Wright posted bond on Feb. 13, 2026, and was released from custody, with his next court appearance set for Feb. 26.
