MrShooter
2005-05-06, 11:18 PM
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/11580663.htm
Two men with lengthy police records were arrested today in connection with the early morning killing of a decorated St. Paul police vice cop.
Sgt. Gerald Vick, 41, was gunned down at close range in the predawn hours today outside an east side tavern. He and another vice officer had been at the bar as part of a prostitution investigation.
Within an hour of the shooting, police had arrested Harry Jerome Evans Jr., 32, of St. Paul. Six-and-a-half hours later, they arrested Antonio Alexander Kelly, 27, of St. Paul.
Despite the arrests, the police investigation into the shooting of one of their own was still "very active," said Chief of Police John Harrington.
"It is not by any means a done deal," Harrington said of the inquiry. "We are still trying to make sure that we have all the possible witnesses that are available, that we have all the forensic evidence that is available." Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said the weekend would allow police and prosecutors time to figure out what to do.
"We need to make a charging decision by Monday at noon," she said.
State records show Evans has been arrested at least 22 times, charged with an array of crimes including drug possession, possession of stolen property, careless driving, giving false information to police and "lurking with intent." Similarly, Kelly has been arrested at least 25 times and on charges that include domestic assault, check forgery, assault and disorderly conduct.
The two are said to have matched the descriptions given by another officer at the scene. Police also detained at least six possible witnesses.
Harrington said Vick is survived by a wife and two children "and a department that is going to miss the hell out of him."
Investigators were trying to piece together what happened. Early indications were that Vick and another officer were coming out of Erick's Bar, 949 E. Seventh St., after working on a prostitution investigation when they were confronted by two men who may have been looking for victims to rob.
As the undercover officers were walking to their cars, "they were accosted by these two individuals, who made some demands for money and made it appear, at least on the surface, that they were begging, or they might have been looking to roll or rob one or more of the people coming out of the bar," said Harrington.
"When the officers told them to move on, the suspects walked off down the block," the chief said. "Seeing that there didn't seem to be anybody else that was being harassed, the officers went to their respective cars and proceeded to leave. That's when they split up." At that point, Harrington said, there was "an additional verbal confrontation" in the alley. It resulted in Vick being shot numerous times at close range. His partner, Sgt. Joe Strong, shot back and missed. The suspects fled on foot.
Police said it did not appear as though Vick fired his weapon.
The chief said it was doubtful Vick or Strong would have identified themselves to the men as police officers. "Not when they're in an ongoing undercover capacity," he said. "It would be unlikely that they would have (identified themselves) unless there was some exigent or urgent circumstances that they would have had to ID themselves." Within minutes of the shooting, police had launched a search for the two suspects. As the first amber hints of dawn bathed the East Side, that search involved nearly 100 police officers from several agencies, working on the ground and in the air.
Police were looking for two black men, both believed to be 25 to 30 years old. The first suspect was described as being about 5-foot-7 with a medium build. He was almost bald and was wearing a white shirt, dark sweat pants with white pinstripes and white tennis shoes.
Evans' drivers license lists his height as 5-foot-6, and his weight at 165 pounds.
The second suspect was said to be about 6 feet tall and weighed 160 to 170 pounds with a 1-inch Afro. He was wearing a light shirt with a T-shirt underneath, blue jeans and white tennis shoes.
Kelly's drivers license lists his height as 6-foot-1, and his weight at 171 pounds.
The police dragnet cast a wide net, which angered some in the St. Paul neighborhood.
"They told us we looked like the suspects. It's ridiculous," said Mark Zeigler, 17, of being stopped by the police along with his cousin, Maurice Tayborn, 16. "No way is there any way that we looked suspicious. Do you think people who killed a cop are going to just be out?" The youths were walking to a library when police picked them up about 8 a.m.
They said Tayborn was handcuffed and both teens were taken to the police station, where they were briefly questioned and let go.
Officers patted down the other family members who were with them, Tayborn said.
"It was crazy," his brother Calvin Tayborn, 18, agreed. "It was all about intimidation." The two cousins � and three other teen relatives � were staying at a house in the cordoned-off streets where police had set up their search perimeter, so they couldn't go home after they were released.
Instead, visibly agitated, they hung around the corner of Margaret and Forest streets, watching as camouflage-attired officers search a nearby house.
"I understand the police want to catch these guys, but they shouldn't try to just blame anybody," Zeigler said. "Today is not a good day to be walking around black." Evans was found in the vicinity of the bar and was taken into custody about 3:30 a.m. Kelly was arrested about 10:15 a.m. Police who were patrolling the neighborhood's perimeter "saw him leaving the area of a yard, was covered with mud, and looked like someone who might have been hiding in the backyards in the area," Harrington said.
"That drew their attention and caused them to stop and have a conversation with him," he said. "His initial statements led us to believe that he was possibly involved." As the janitorial staff at police headquarters lowered the flags to half-staff about 7:30 a.m. in memory of the undercover officer � the first St. Paul officer to die in the line of duty since 1994 � authorities continued trying to sort out the events that led up to the shooting.
Being in harm's way was not an unusual place for Vick. Since joining the police force in 1989, he twice had been awarded the Medal of Valor, the highest honor bestowed by the St. Paul Police Department.
One award was for rushing into a burning house to rescue a 15-month-old infant, while the other was for shooting and killing a suspect in an armed robbery.
The officer had transferred to the vice unit two years ago.
Police sources said a revolver was recovered near where one of the suspects was arrested. Officials said that although there was evidence of "quite a bit of shooting," all the bullet casings found apparently came from police weapons. Revolvers do not eject empty shells as they fire, and must be reloaded manually.
The suspects and possible witnesses were rounded up within four hours of the shooting.
"We are continuing the searches in the area. There are well over 100 officers," Harrington said. Officers from St. Paul, Minneapolis, Maplewood, Roseville, Oakdale, the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department, the State Patrol, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and other federal agencies were involved. A Minnesota National Guard helicopter was used to search by air.
Part of the area is covered by surveillance cameras. While cameras didn't catch the shooting, they did catch the two suspects, police said.
"The suspects we arrested, at least two of them appear to match the physical description," Harrington said. They were unarmed when taken into custody about two blocks south of the bar.
Police set up a tip line, 651-266-5820, and asked citizens to call if they had any information or possible clues. "Any information, (no matter) how small, how trivial some people may think it is � we want to know anything anyone heard or saw or experience last night in that area," the chief said.
"This is a grim day," said Harrington. "The lights of one of the heroes of this department have gone out. I can't even begin to express what this means."
Vick is survived by his wife, Connie, and two children, Clayton and Amanda. His family, including his brother, was at the hospital Friday morning.
The last time a St. Paul police officer was killed was in 1994, when officers Ron Ryan Jr. and Tim Jones were fatally shot on the East Side.
Friday's search was only a few blocks from Sacred Heart Church, where Ryan was sent to check on a man sleeping in a car.
He rousted small-time drug dealer Guy Harvey Baker from his sleep and took the 26-year-old's ID back to his squad car to do a routine check. Baker had stopped in St. Paul on his way to Canada. Fearing Ryan would discover his Iowa arrest warrant, Baker pulled a revolver from his lap and shot Ryan, then took the officer's gun.
In the massive manhunt that followed, officer Tim Jones' police dog, Laser, picked up Baker's trail and tracked him to a fish house where he was hiding. With the dog whining outside the fish house door, Baker shot Jones through the window with Ryan's gun. Baker ran out, grabbed Jones' gun and killed Laser when the dog bit his leg.
Baker was arrested later that day. He pleaded guilty and is serving two life sentences with no possibility of parole.
...
Two men with lengthy police records were arrested today in connection with the early morning killing of a decorated St. Paul police vice cop.
Sgt. Gerald Vick, 41, was gunned down at close range in the predawn hours today outside an east side tavern. He and another vice officer had been at the bar as part of a prostitution investigation.
Within an hour of the shooting, police had arrested Harry Jerome Evans Jr., 32, of St. Paul. Six-and-a-half hours later, they arrested Antonio Alexander Kelly, 27, of St. Paul.
Despite the arrests, the police investigation into the shooting of one of their own was still "very active," said Chief of Police John Harrington.
"It is not by any means a done deal," Harrington said of the inquiry. "We are still trying to make sure that we have all the possible witnesses that are available, that we have all the forensic evidence that is available." Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said the weekend would allow police and prosecutors time to figure out what to do.
"We need to make a charging decision by Monday at noon," she said.
State records show Evans has been arrested at least 22 times, charged with an array of crimes including drug possession, possession of stolen property, careless driving, giving false information to police and "lurking with intent." Similarly, Kelly has been arrested at least 25 times and on charges that include domestic assault, check forgery, assault and disorderly conduct.
The two are said to have matched the descriptions given by another officer at the scene. Police also detained at least six possible witnesses.
Harrington said Vick is survived by a wife and two children "and a department that is going to miss the hell out of him."
Investigators were trying to piece together what happened. Early indications were that Vick and another officer were coming out of Erick's Bar, 949 E. Seventh St., after working on a prostitution investigation when they were confronted by two men who may have been looking for victims to rob.
As the undercover officers were walking to their cars, "they were accosted by these two individuals, who made some demands for money and made it appear, at least on the surface, that they were begging, or they might have been looking to roll or rob one or more of the people coming out of the bar," said Harrington.
"When the officers told them to move on, the suspects walked off down the block," the chief said. "Seeing that there didn't seem to be anybody else that was being harassed, the officers went to their respective cars and proceeded to leave. That's when they split up." At that point, Harrington said, there was "an additional verbal confrontation" in the alley. It resulted in Vick being shot numerous times at close range. His partner, Sgt. Joe Strong, shot back and missed. The suspects fled on foot.
Police said it did not appear as though Vick fired his weapon.
The chief said it was doubtful Vick or Strong would have identified themselves to the men as police officers. "Not when they're in an ongoing undercover capacity," he said. "It would be unlikely that they would have (identified themselves) unless there was some exigent or urgent circumstances that they would have had to ID themselves." Within minutes of the shooting, police had launched a search for the two suspects. As the first amber hints of dawn bathed the East Side, that search involved nearly 100 police officers from several agencies, working on the ground and in the air.
Police were looking for two black men, both believed to be 25 to 30 years old. The first suspect was described as being about 5-foot-7 with a medium build. He was almost bald and was wearing a white shirt, dark sweat pants with white pinstripes and white tennis shoes.
Evans' drivers license lists his height as 5-foot-6, and his weight at 165 pounds.
The second suspect was said to be about 6 feet tall and weighed 160 to 170 pounds with a 1-inch Afro. He was wearing a light shirt with a T-shirt underneath, blue jeans and white tennis shoes.
Kelly's drivers license lists his height as 6-foot-1, and his weight at 171 pounds.
The police dragnet cast a wide net, which angered some in the St. Paul neighborhood.
"They told us we looked like the suspects. It's ridiculous," said Mark Zeigler, 17, of being stopped by the police along with his cousin, Maurice Tayborn, 16. "No way is there any way that we looked suspicious. Do you think people who killed a cop are going to just be out?" The youths were walking to a library when police picked them up about 8 a.m.
They said Tayborn was handcuffed and both teens were taken to the police station, where they were briefly questioned and let go.
Officers patted down the other family members who were with them, Tayborn said.
"It was crazy," his brother Calvin Tayborn, 18, agreed. "It was all about intimidation." The two cousins � and three other teen relatives � were staying at a house in the cordoned-off streets where police had set up their search perimeter, so they couldn't go home after they were released.
Instead, visibly agitated, they hung around the corner of Margaret and Forest streets, watching as camouflage-attired officers search a nearby house.
"I understand the police want to catch these guys, but they shouldn't try to just blame anybody," Zeigler said. "Today is not a good day to be walking around black." Evans was found in the vicinity of the bar and was taken into custody about 3:30 a.m. Kelly was arrested about 10:15 a.m. Police who were patrolling the neighborhood's perimeter "saw him leaving the area of a yard, was covered with mud, and looked like someone who might have been hiding in the backyards in the area," Harrington said.
"That drew their attention and caused them to stop and have a conversation with him," he said. "His initial statements led us to believe that he was possibly involved." As the janitorial staff at police headquarters lowered the flags to half-staff about 7:30 a.m. in memory of the undercover officer � the first St. Paul officer to die in the line of duty since 1994 � authorities continued trying to sort out the events that led up to the shooting.
Being in harm's way was not an unusual place for Vick. Since joining the police force in 1989, he twice had been awarded the Medal of Valor, the highest honor bestowed by the St. Paul Police Department.
One award was for rushing into a burning house to rescue a 15-month-old infant, while the other was for shooting and killing a suspect in an armed robbery.
The officer had transferred to the vice unit two years ago.
Police sources said a revolver was recovered near where one of the suspects was arrested. Officials said that although there was evidence of "quite a bit of shooting," all the bullet casings found apparently came from police weapons. Revolvers do not eject empty shells as they fire, and must be reloaded manually.
The suspects and possible witnesses were rounded up within four hours of the shooting.
"We are continuing the searches in the area. There are well over 100 officers," Harrington said. Officers from St. Paul, Minneapolis, Maplewood, Roseville, Oakdale, the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department, the State Patrol, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and other federal agencies were involved. A Minnesota National Guard helicopter was used to search by air.
Part of the area is covered by surveillance cameras. While cameras didn't catch the shooting, they did catch the two suspects, police said.
"The suspects we arrested, at least two of them appear to match the physical description," Harrington said. They were unarmed when taken into custody about two blocks south of the bar.
Police set up a tip line, 651-266-5820, and asked citizens to call if they had any information or possible clues. "Any information, (no matter) how small, how trivial some people may think it is � we want to know anything anyone heard or saw or experience last night in that area," the chief said.
"This is a grim day," said Harrington. "The lights of one of the heroes of this department have gone out. I can't even begin to express what this means."
Vick is survived by his wife, Connie, and two children, Clayton and Amanda. His family, including his brother, was at the hospital Friday morning.
The last time a St. Paul police officer was killed was in 1994, when officers Ron Ryan Jr. and Tim Jones were fatally shot on the East Side.
Friday's search was only a few blocks from Sacred Heart Church, where Ryan was sent to check on a man sleeping in a car.
He rousted small-time drug dealer Guy Harvey Baker from his sleep and took the 26-year-old's ID back to his squad car to do a routine check. Baker had stopped in St. Paul on his way to Canada. Fearing Ryan would discover his Iowa arrest warrant, Baker pulled a revolver from his lap and shot Ryan, then took the officer's gun.
In the massive manhunt that followed, officer Tim Jones' police dog, Laser, picked up Baker's trail and tracked him to a fish house where he was hiding. With the dog whining outside the fish house door, Baker shot Jones through the window with Ryan's gun. Baker ran out, grabbed Jones' gun and killed Laser when the dog bit his leg.
Baker was arrested later that day. He pleaded guilty and is serving two life sentences with no possibility of parole.
...