St. Paul gang member admits to Raspberry Island killing over rap song tied to rival gang
Prosecutors plan to argue for 33-year prison term.
A St. Paul gang member has admitted to fatally shooting a 20-year-old man who was playing a rap song tied to a rival gang last year on Raspberry Island.
Romello Markell Ifonlaja-Randle, 24, of Maplewood, pleaded guilty Friday in Ramsey County District Court to intentional second-degree murder, not premeditated, and illegal possession of a firearm in the connection with the shooting of 20-year-old Marcus Anthony Baker Jr., of St. Paul, at the Mississippi River park on Aug. 14, 2023.
Three other charges will be dismissed at sentencing as part of a plea agreement: two counts of crime committed for the benefit of a gang and second-degree unintentional murder while committing felony assault. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27.
The state will argue that Ifonlaja-Randle receive a prison term of about 33 years, which would fall in the middle of state sentencing guidelines, said Ramsey County Attorney’s Office spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein. Ifonlaja-Randle’s attorney will seek a low end of the guidelines, which is just over 27 years.
The criminal complaint against Ifonlaja-Randle includes the following information from police and prosecutors:
Officers were sent to Raspberry Island, the Mississippi River park across from downtown St. Paul, about 9:10 p.m. Baker was in the back seat of a vehicle and died from three gunshot injuries.
Witnesses said four to five males approached Baker, who was in a Chevrolet Suburban. One told Baker to shut off the song, which was by a local rap artist affiliated with East Side gangs.
Baker asked the man, who police later identified as Ifonlaja-Randle, if he was from the West Side and he replied, “the dub.” After Baker didn’t turn off the music, Ifonlaja-Randle hit Baker twice in the face and then shot him when he tried to get out of the vehicle. Ifonlaja-Randle ran across the bridge.
Dash camera video from another vehicle in the lot showed a silver Volkswagen left Raspberry Island after the shooting.
A Target bottle carrier with two unopened bottles of tequila was left behind by the suspects, witnesses said. Investigators canvassed local Target stores to find out where the bottles were purchased, and found they were bought at the West St. Paul store at 4:23 p.m. Aug. 14. A gift card and credit card were used, and a Target “Cartwheel” promotion was added.
The Cartwheel account belonged to someone who law enforcement identified as a 24-year-old. Surveillance footage showed the person buying the liquor and leaving in a silver Volkswagen.
Target records also indicated the same person made purchases on Aug. 13, and surveillance footage showed the individual leaving with Ifonlaja-Randle and a 24-year-old man who was later arrested in the case, but not charged.
Two days after Baker was killed, officers were sent back to Raspberry Island to collect a handgun lying on rocks on the south side of the bridge that connects Raspberry Island to Harriet Island Boulevard. The gun was on the Mississippi River’s rocky shoreline.
It was a “ghost gun,” meaning it had no serial number. A test firing of the gun connected it to a casing found at the murder scene.
The gun was also processed for DNA and a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension analysis found Ifonlaja‐Randle’s DNA on the laser/light attachment and Baker’s DNA on the gun’s muzzle area.
Investigators analyzed phone records for Ifonlaja‐Randle and the 24-year-old man who was arrested, and found both their phones were in the Raspberry Island area at the time Baker was killed.
Gerhardstein, the attorney’s office spokesman, said Monday no one else has been charged in the killing, adding “and at this point we do not anticipate charging anyone else.”
Feuding gangs
After police arrested Ifonlaja‐Randle on Aug. 30 in Brooklyn Center, he told investigators he had not hung out at Raspberry or Harriet islands. Investigators showed him a photo of the gun, and he said he’d never seen it.
Police said Ifonlaja‐Randle meets criteria to be considered a member of the Shoota Boy gang, which is associated with the West Side.
“In St. Paul, East Side gangs are currently in opposition of West Side gangs,” according to the complaint. “Officers know that rap songs are commonly used by gangs to taunt or mock their opposition.”
The rap artist whose song Baker was playing “has recently been in social media feuds with West Side gang associates,” investigators wrote. “In St. Paul, there have been multiple murders resulting from East vs. West feuds.”
Ifonlaja‐Randle has three prior felony convictions — two first-degree aggravated robberies and fourth-degree assault — and each make him ineligible to possess firearms.
He has three open 2023 criminal cases: gross misdemeanor domestic assault in Washington County; first-degree sale of drugs and illegal possession of a firearm in Hennepin County; and two counts of illegal possession of a firearm in Ramsey County.
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