A St. Paul man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for hiding out in an alley behind his home last summer and fatally shooting a 22-year-old as he drove past.
Lawrence Danzel Phelps, 31, pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court to second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony last week, before the start of the second day of testimony in his trial in the June 24 killing of Royce D. McKinney on the city’s East Side. Phelps’ brother told police the shooting stemmed from a feud over a previous alleged marijuana theft and shooting, according to the criminal complaint.
A plea agreement included the length of his prison term, which he received Monday from Judge Kellie Charles. He was given credit for nearly 10 months already served in custody.
Phelps was initially charged with second-degree intentional murder. In January, prosecutors added the unintentional murder charge and possession of a firearm after a conviction for a crime of violence. Those charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
According to the complaint, officers were called to Van Dyke Street and York Avenue about 9:40 p.m. June 24 on reports of gunshots and a horn sounding. McKinney, of St. Paul, was in the driver’s seat of a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV that had crashed into a boulevard tree.
McKinney, who had a gunshot wound to his upper torso, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said there was a handgun on the driver’s seat of McKinney’s vehicle. It had a full magazine and no round in the chamber.
About 8 a.m. the next day, Phelps’ 17-year-old brother was seen leaving the area with a backpack and law enforcement pulled over the Uber he was riding in. When officers were taking him into custody, he said, “There is a gun in my bag,” and asked, “What am I wanted for, murder?” and then said the backpack wasn’t his.
The teen told police he knew the gun he was arrested with was involved in the murder and that a friend of his mother’s, “Derrick,” was the shooter.
He said McKinney followed them home from Cub Foods, taunted Derrick and scared his mother by revving his engine outside their home. Police talked to the teen’s mom who “denied the existence of a ‘Derrick,’” the complaint says.
Investigators knew the teen had an older brother, Phelps. They reviewed surveillance video from Cub that showed the teen with his 6-year-old nephew and Phelps, but not another person who could be Derrick, the complaint says.
The teen was charged with possession of a firearm by a person under 18, and later requested to talk with investigators again. He said he’d talked to his mother and “feels comfortable now telling the truth about what occurred,” the complaint against Phelps says.
Lawrence Danzel Phelps (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
He said Phelps previously stole marijuana from McKinney. About three months before McKinney’s killing, McKinney shot at Phelps, and casings found at a shooting scene matched McKinney’s firearm, the complaint says.
The teen said he was at Cub on June 24 when he noticed McKinney in a Tahoe, which followed them home. A couple of hours later, the teen was inside with his family and he heard an engine revving outside. His sister looked outside and said it was the Tahoe again. The teen told Phelps, who grabbed a gun and ran outside.
Soon after, the teen “heard several shots and hit the floor with his other family members,” the complaint says.
Phelps came back inside, saying, “I gotta go,” changed his clothes and left the firearm. “Phelps reportedly said that he hid in the alley and when the Tahoe came by, he jumped out to start shooting,” the complaint says.
Officers arrested Phelps on June 28 in South St. Paul. He said he hadn’t been to his family’s address in a couple of weeks, but then said he’d been there earlier in the week. He said it was only to drop off groceries and he’d left. He said he didn’t know anything about a shooting.
Related Articles
Tim Walz appoints Victoria Elsmore to fill Second Judicial District vacancy
St. Paul man pleads guilty to firing shots at Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy during pursuit on city’s East Side
5 Concordia University graduates win first round in DHS lawsuit
Minnesota gun-carry permit age drops from 21 to 18 after legal challenge
Arrest warrant issued for man who skipped end of Lake Elmo rape trial
He had warrants from the Minnesota Department of Corrections for a probation violation in an assault case, domestic-related warrants from Dakota County and a theft warrant from Hennepin County, the complaint says.
In August, a BCA report was filed stating Phelps was a major profile DNA match from swabs taken from the grip of the firearm believed to be the murder weapon.
Phelps has three prior felony convictions for crimes of violence that prohibit him from possessing a firearm: aiding and abetting second-degree burglary in April 2013 in Ramsey County, third-degree assault in March 2022 in Ramsey County and domestic assault in January 2023 in Dakota County.
Leave a Reply