Siblings Charged In Saint Paul Drug Deal Killing
BY MN CRIME STAFF
Two people are charged with murder in a December Saint paul shooting that left a man dead in the street.
Prosecutors charged a 36-year-old Brooklyn Park woman and her 35-year-old brother with second-degree murder in the killing of Michael D. Tucker.
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The shooting happened around 9:12 p.m. on December 4 near Edgerton Street and Case Avenue East.
Officers responding to reports of a gunshot found Tucker lying in the street with a single gunshot wound to his back and had no pulse. Medical crews attempted lifesaving measures and transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators recovered a 9mm spent casing and winter hats near the body.
PREVIOUSLY: East Side Saint Paul Shooting Leaves Man Dead
Police learned Tucker lived nearby and had been communicating throughout the evening with a person using the names “Lois Griffin” and “Lois / Holly” on Facebook and Snapchat. A forensic review of his phone showed repeated calls and messages leading up to the shooting. Investigators later tied those accounts and a Cash App profile to Ryshaun Ca’Mia Rhodes.
License plate reader data showed a black GMC Yukon with blackout plates driving through the neighborhood before the shooting. Cell phone data placed Rhodes’ phone near the scene at the time of the killing before it returned to Brooklyn Park minutes later.
Tucker’s girlfriend told investigators she watched him approach a large black SUV after receiving a phone call earlier that night. She said Tucker returned briefly carrying a small package she believed contained drugs. After they returned home, Tucker received repeated calls and told her to lock the bedroom door after he went outside. She later found police providing medical aid to him.
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Police executed a search warrant at a Brooklyn Park home on December 16. Derek Alonzo Mitchell attempted to flee when a SWAT team entered. Rhodes was arrested inside, and officers recovered a purple Taurus 9mm pistol from a gun safe.
Rhodes initially denied involvement but later told investigators an argument occurred inside her vehicle after Tucker allegedly brandished a gun. She claimed she fired after chambering a round and later threw Tucker’s gun from the vehicle while driving home.
Mitchell initially denied being in Saint Paul but later admitted he was hidden in the back seat of the Yukon. According to the complaint, Mitchell said Tucker pulled a gun during the encounter, tried to flee, and Mitchell chambered a round and fired once. Tucker ran and was shot in the back. Investigators say the gun was later thrown from the vehicle while driving on Interstate 694.
In a later interview, Rhodes said she agreed to help sell cocaine because she needed money and that Tucker agreed to buy $700 worth before becoming upset over the quality. She said Mitchell fired the deadly gunshot despite her telling him he did not need to.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner ruled Tucker’s death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the back.
Both Rhodes and Mitchell face up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Both are held on $1,000,000 bail.
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