Riot Charge Filed After Gunfire Outside Saint Paul Bar
BY MN CRIME STAFF
Felony charges were filed last week against a man accused of participating in a shootout near a Saint Paul bar in late October, with investigators linking his gun to shell casings at the scene.
Brandon Deshone Johnson, 27, is charged in Ramsey County with second-degree riot while armed with a dangerous weapon, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine or both.
The charge stems from an incident on Oct. 26, 2025, outside Shadey’s Bar at 674 Dodd Road in Saint Paul.
According to the criminal complaint, officers were sent to the bar after multiple reports of shots being fired in the parking lot. Once on scene, police recovered four 9mm shell casings and 21 shell casings from 5.7x28 caliber ammunition in the parking lot.
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Witnesses told police that one of the shooters had gone into a bathroom inside the bar. Officers later arrested Johnson as he exited a bathroom and say he was carrying a FN 5.7 caliber handgun that was tucked into his waistband.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Johnson speaking with Malik Jamal-Alize Farmer and another person in the parking lot before the shooting. The footage also showed a man identified by bar patrons exiting the bar and confronting Farmer. Prosecutors say Farmer shoved the man into a parked motorcycle before backing into the parking lot.
The complaint states Farmer then pulled out a handgun and fired it into the air, with muzzle flashes visible on the surveillance video. People outside the bar scattered and ran back inside. Farmer then left the parking lot in a black Mercedes. Johnson was standing in an area outside the camera’s view during the shooting.
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A forensic analysis later determined that shell casings recovered from the scene were fired by the handgun recovered from Johnson’s waistband, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors allege Johnson acted together with three or more people who disturbed the peace through an intentional act or threat of unlawful force or violence while armed with a dangerous weapon, meeting the elements of second-degree riot under Minnesota law.
Original Facebook Post: Oct. 26, 2025 at Shadey’s Bar
Johnson was booked into the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center on the morning of Dec. 15 and was released the evening of Dec. 16 after spending one day in custody.
Records show at his first appearance on the charge Tuesday, Dec. 16, a judge set Johnson’s bail at $25,000 with no conditions. He has an omnibus hearing set for Jan. 7, 2026.
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