Teen charged as adult in killing of 16-year-old boy found in St. Paul alley
St. Paul police on the scene of a fatal shooting after a 16-year-old was found in an alley. (Photo courtesy St. Paul Police Department)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A teenager initially charged in juvenile court for the shooting of a 16-year-old boy in a St. Paul alley is now facing charges as an adult.
On Thursday, a Ramsey County judge certified J’Veon Jamauri Brown, 17, to be charged as an adult on charges of intentional second-degree murder and second-degree murder while committing a felony in the death of 16-year-old Antwan Watson.
According to court records, on Oct. 10, 2022, St. Paul police officers went to the 1000 block of York Avenue around 12:25 p.m. for a report of a person lying in an alley, not breathing and showing signs of trauma.
Officers located the 16-year-old, identified as Watson, with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.
Police said video surveillance from a nearby home captured three distinct gunshots around 12:12 p.m. A witness told police he captured video of three males walking into the alley about three minutes before the shots were heard, charges explained.
During the investigation, police said two people came forward and said someone known as "JB" was the shooter, and he was a high school student in St. Paul. Later the same day, officers found surveillance video from the school, which appeared to show Brown "re-enacting the shooting," the document reads.
Later in the evening, police talked with another teen who may have been present at the time of the shooting. The teen told police he was with Watson and Brown in an alley looking for a car a friend had given them a key to.
The teen said he was walking in front of the other two, and Watson called out to him. When he turned around, he told police he saw Brown shoot Watson, according to court documents.
Police said they also interviewed the person who gave the trio the car key. He told police he knew all three had guns because two of them had "showed them to him earlier in the day" at school, the document reads.
He also claimed that on one occasion, he saw all three of them rob two students on the way to school.
On Oct. 11, 2022, police located Brown and recovered a loaded handgun from his waistband. Charges said Brown changed his story several times during interviews with investigators. Brown allegedly told police he had shot Watson because he heard the pair were "planning to rob him," the document reads.
Brown, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, was initially charged in juvenile court for his alleged involvement in the incident. He made his first court appearance after being certified as an adult Friday morning.