Taunt leads to death of St. Paul man; accused gunman held on $1M bail
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A 24-year-old St. Paul man was overcome with rage when he shot and killed his neighbor's boyfriend on the patio they shared, according to charges filed Wednesday.
Prosecutors say Lepierre Cortia Carpenter admitted to the shooting shortly after the incident on the 1500 block of Ames Avenue in St. Paul on Monday. He allegedly told the victim's girlfriend he got what he deserved for teasing him.
Police arrived to find Carpenter sitting outside on the curb, not far from the victim's body. Carpenter allegedly shot Parnell Robinson on the patio, threw the gun on the ground and went back inside before coming back outside.
When police approached him, Carpenter put his hands up and said "it's me," according to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court.
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"I let my rage get the best of me," he said. "How much time do you think I'm looking at for something like this?"
Carpenter faces second degree murder charges with a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
The deadly shooting may have been precipitated by a misdirected taunt. Robinson, 26, was talking to a friend who was walking by and not directing his comments to Carpenter, the complaint said. Robinson teased this friend, who is not named in the court documents, for letting his girlfriend make him walk to the store when she had a car.
Police talked to the friend who said he heard gunshots shortly after the exchange, yelling and screaming and then saw Robinson on the ground.
Robinson's girlfriend and her young daughter had their backs to Carpenter's porch and didn't witness the shooting, but she said she heard gunshots and Robinson say "why?" before falling to the ground, the complaint said. When she asked Carpenter why he shot her boyfriend, he replied "that's what he gets for talking [expletive]."
Others told police the two had been arguing about drugs on Facebook for the past two or three months.
Carpenter used a black handgun, according to the complaint. He holds a valid permit to carry a weapon.
Carpenter appeared in Ramsey County District Court Wednesday where his bail was set at $1 million.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner determined Robinson died of multiple traumatic injuries due to gunshot wounds.
