ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - An argument over money between a group smoking crack led to one being stabbed and another charged with second-degree murder in St. Paul.
At around 5:30 p.m. on June 13, the St. Paul Police Department responded to a report of a stabbing in an apartment at 135 Winnipeg Ave. in St. Paul, a criminal complaint states. Upon arrival, officers located a victim, Christopher S. Pryor, 41, of Minneapolis, on his back and bleeding from multiple stab wounds to the abdomen. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dwight David Ford, 46, of St. Paul, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection to Pryor's death. He was scheduled to make his first court appearance on Monday, court records show.
Police learned from Pryor's sister that he had gotten out of jail that day, and called her for a ride, saying he'd be waiting outside, charges said. When she arrived, he wasn't there so she called him. On the fourth call, Pryor picked up, and she heard arguing with another man over money, she said. She also heard a woman screaming.
Police interviewed a witness, who is listed on the lease for the apartment, who told police two females and a male were over at his apartment for approximately three to four hours, the complaint said. The witness told investigators they were "smoking crack," and at some point, there was a dispute about money. Ford fled the apartment before police arrived.
At around 11 p.m. on June 16, officers were dispatched to 800 Rice Street for a disturbance – a 911 caller said her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Ford, was knocking at her apartment door and had with him an unknown object, charges said. She told dispatchers he was wanted for murder due to his involvement in a stabbing.
Officers responded and located Ford south of Sycamore and Rice streets, where he was taken into custody without incident, the complaint said.
Ford is currently listed as a non-compliant predatory offender with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension after being previously convicted of kidnapping, terroristic threats, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and multiple assault charges, according to the complaint.