E’Shaun Maurice Funches said during his presentence investigation that his killing of 30-year-old Alfonzo Avery Armstead in St. Paul was “about two men’s egos and pride,” his attorney told the court Thursday.

Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Ryan Flynn said it is more than an “ego-based decision.”

“It is an impulsive ego decision that was empowered with the abilities of a gun,” Flynn said. “A few seconds and the defendant stole away a life. And he also stole from the victim’s family and his loved ones.”

Judge Laura Nelson went on to sentence Funches to 19½ years in prison, a term that was agreed upon as part of a plea agreement he reached with the prosecution in the daytime shooting of Armstead outside Sunrise Grocery and Tobacco on University Avenue on Dec. 13, 2023.

Funches, 24, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty in February to second-degree unintentional murder and possession of a firearm by an ineligible person. A charge of second-degree murder with intent was dismissed at sentencing.

Funches was arrested shortly after running away from the shooting and denied being the shooter. However, his friend and his friend’s girlfriend who had picked him up for a ride — as well as video surveillance footage — told a different story, according to the criminal complaint, which didn’t offer a motive in the case.

Funches got out of a Nissan Rogue around 2:45 p.m. and quickly walked toward Armstead, who was standing outside the store. His back was turned to Funches, who opened fire on him.

Armstead, who had gunshot wounds to his back, left leg and abdomen, died at Regions Hospital.

“What possesses a man to play God and take a life that he didn’t give is beyond us,” Armstead’s sister and brother said in a victim impact statement read in court by the prosecutor. “The hurt and pain will never go away. We will never get over this ordeal.”

Less than a month before the killing, Funches completed a three-year probation term in a 2019 aggravated robbery case out of Minneapolis.

He asked his friend for a ride

The complaint says a police officer in an unmarked squad heard the call about the shooting and saw Funches walking off a path wearing black pants and carrying black clothes draped over his arm. The officer watched Funches try to discard items in a dumpster in a church parking lot on Central Avenue. Funches was unable to open the dumpster, so he walked away carrying the items.

The officer stopped Funches, who dropped the clothes. He tried to walk away, but was arrested when more officers arrived.

E’Shaun Maurice Funches (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Funches was trying to discard a black pair of pants and a black jacket that matched the one worn by the shooter. His shoes also matched those worn by the shooter.

A canine tracked from the shooting area south in the direction the shooter ran. Officers found a Taurus handgun in a plastic bag hidden beneath a pile of leaves on the side of a path near Central and Western avenues. Funches was arrested coming from the direction where the gun was found.

Some of the headstamps on the bullets in the magazine matched the headstamps on the three 9mm casings found at the murder scene.

Armstead’s girlfriend went to the shooting scene and told police that he recently was jumped by three men in front of the business, according to the complaint, which offers no further details on the incident.

Funches agreed to speak to investigators. He said he found the clothes he was arrested carrying and that he was trying to throw away candy wrappers. He denied he had anything to do with the killing before eventually asking for an attorney.

The Rogue’s owner, who was in the front passenger seat during the shooting, said her boyfriend was driving and that they had picked Funches up at a White Castle near Rice Street. Funches had asked for a ride. She said they drove over to Arundel Street near University Avenue. Funches got out of her car and shot the man.

Officers spoke to her boyfriend, who confirmed her story. “The man was distraught that Funches would put him and his girlfriend in that situation,” the complaint says.

He said Funches has pulled a gun on him in the past, so he kept Funches at a distance.

In his previous case, Funches was charged with robbing a man of his cellphone, showing a handgun in his waistband, as the man left a downtown Minneapolis bar. He was sentenced to two months in the Hennepin County workhouse and three years’ probation, which he completed in November 2023.

He didn’t address the court

Related Articles

Winona woman arrested in 2011 death of newborn found in Mississippi River

Victimized once online, they get hit again by FBI impersonators saying lost money can be returned

Suburban Chicago man sentenced to life in prison without parole for July Fourth shooting

13-year-old girl killed in crash during police pursuit in Itasca County, authorities say

St. Paul alley shooter gets 17-year prison sentence for killing man on East Side

When Funches was led into the courtroom by deputies for sentencing, he smiled and waved to his mother, his toddler daughter and girlfriend. He made a shape of a heart with his hands.

He declined to address the court.

Earlier, his attorney, assistant public defender Lauri Traub, noted how he apologized to his victim’s family in his presentence investigation.

Traub read from the investigation: “The defendant stated, ‘I apologize, although I know no apology can mend or make up for the damage I caused you. Our emotions, egos and pride got the best of both of us, and ended up in a situation that neither of us planned to be in.’ ”

The Senate Subcommittee on Ethics on Thursday advised Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion to disclose potential conflicts of interest in future bills he sponsors.

Though in that same motion, the panel made no finding on whether Champion had a conflict of interest when he carried a 2023 bill that gave state money to a nonprofit whose founder he had done free legal work for in the past.

Further, they found no financial conflict in a bill he sponsored this year to bring that organization another $1 million.

The decision was unanimous, though the Ethics Subcommittee has two Democratic-Farmer-Labor and two Republican members and often deadlocks or rules inconclusively.

On May 5, it’s expected to hear a Senate GOP complaint against Champion regarding his relationships with nonprofits he helped fund.

Violence prevention nonprofit

Sen. Bobby Joe Champion.

Champion, a Minneapolis DFLer, has been under scrutiny in recent weeks after reports that he helped the violence prevention nonprofit 21 Days of Peace obtain $3 million in funding, and that he had done pro bono work for its founder, Jerry McAfee.

The senator temporarily stepped down as chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct and asked for an advisory opinion on April 7, and has maintained that his pro bono work did not coincide with his sponsorship of the bills.

‘“I appreciate the conclusion the members of the Ethics Subcommittee, which as expected found that I had not violated Senate rules,” Champion said in a statement. “I sought the advisory opinion from the in full confidence that I have followed the rules of the Senate with regards to conflict of interest, and conducted myself with integrity.”

Minnesota’s ethics rules for legislators are not particularly expansive. Current law bans members from voting on matters that result in a direct financial gain for themselves or their business disproportionate to others in the same field.

Political observers and lawmakers of both parties have noted that Minnesota’s part-time “citizen legislature” naturally lends itself to members voting on issues directly related to their work and communities. Teachers, nurses and business owners often back or carry bills directly related to their lines of work.

Connections may effect work as lawmakers

As the Senate Ethics Subcommittee prepared to pass a motion Thursday, Chair Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, who joined the committee after Champion stepped down, reflected on that challenge for Minnesota lawmakers.

“I think that we have to be very careful with this advisory opinion and what we issue, because if we’re doing our job as legislators, as I said, we have a lot of relationships and a lot of people we know in the community, and that informs our work as legislators,” she said. “That should be considered a good thing.”

Pappas said the advisory opinion from the Ethics Subcommittee telling Champion to disclose potential conflicts in the future was a reminder for all members to weigh how their connections might affect their work.

Champion’s connection to nonprofits he helped fund has raised questions in the Legislature about changing state ethics rules.

Senate Republicans have said that regardless of whether Champion violated rules, state lawmakers should hold themselves to a higher standard of conduct.

Privilege rules

Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, who brought the complaint against Champion, has said a big part of his concern is that Champion had interactions with McAfee, which would be private under attorney-client privilege rules.

“The choice to carry legislation that provided funding to an entity with which Champion has a privileged relationship without disclosing the relationship fails to meet those standards,” he said in a Thursday statement. “This opinion from the Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct acknowledges that fact by saying he should make disclosures in the future.”

The Ethics Subcommittee will hear Kreun’s complaint at a meeting where they’ll officially adopt Thursday’s advisory opinion. Kreun’s complaint requests that the subcommittee look into whether Champion violated rules prohibiting actions that discredit the Senate or undermine public trust in government.

Related Articles

UMN disease research center to launch vaccine integrity project

Walz seeks GOP help on budget, blasts Trump ‘chaos’ in State of the State speech

Jim Gelbmann: Our partisan endorsement process is unrepresentative, polarizing and self-serving

Minnesota gun-carry permit age drops from 21 to 18 after legal challenge

Keith Ellison sues Trump administration over orders on transgender issues

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — Houthi rebels in Yemen have shot down seven U.S. Reaper drones in less than six weeks, a loss of aircraft worth more than $200 million in what is becoming the most dramatic cost to the Pentagon of the military campaign against the Iran-backed militants.

Related Articles

Crimea is a focus of discussions to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Here’s why it’s so coveted

India and Pakistan are again teetering on the brink of conflict over disputed Kashmir. Here’s why

Istanbul residents spend the night outdoors after a strong earthquake and aftershocks

IMF chief urges countries to move ‘swiftly’ to resolve trade tensions that threaten global growth

Pope Francis’ doctor says pontiff died ‘without suffering, at home’

According to defense officials, three of the drones were shot down in the past week — suggesting the militants’ targeting of the unmanned aircraft flying over Yemen has improved. The drones were doing attack runs or conducting surveillance, and they crashed both into the water and onto land, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The U.S. has increased its attacks on the Houthis, launching daily strikes since March 15, when President Donald Trump ordered a new, expanded campaign. He promised to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. The U.S. has done more than 750 strikes on the Houthis since that new effort began.

Another defense official said that although hostile fire is likely the cause of the drone losses, the incidents are still under investigation. The official noted that the increase in U.S. strikes can add to the risk to aircraft, but said the U.S. will take every measure possible to protect troops, equipment and interests in the region. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to comment on sensitive military issues.

The sophisticated drones, built by General Atomics, cost about $30 million each, and generally fly at altitudes of more than 40,000 feet (12,100 meters). Houthis leaders have consistently touted the strikes in public statements. One of the defense officials said the U.S. lost Reaper drones on March 31 and on April 3, 9, 13, 18, 19 and 22.

U.S. senators, meanwhile, are raising concerns about civilian casualties caused by the American strikes in Yemen. Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tim Kaine of Virginia wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday questioning whether the Trump administration is “abandoning the measures necessary to meet its obligations to reducing civilian harm.”

Specifically, they questioned reports that U.S. strikes at the Ras Isa fuel terminal in Yemen last week potentially killed more than 70 civilians.

“Military leaders agree that ingraining civilian harm mitigation practices within U.S operations leads to better outcomes and that civilian casualties actually undermine the mission that the military has been sent in to do,” their letter said.

In addition to downing the drones, the Houthis have been persistently firing missiles and one-way attack drones at U.S. military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. They haven’t hit any.

The U.S. has been using an array of warships, fighter jets, bombers and drones to strike the Houthis, and aircraft can now launch from two Navy carriers in the region.

Hegseth decided in March to beef up the Navy warship presence in the Middle East, ordering the USS Harry S. Truman to extend its deployment there, as the USS Carl Vinson steamed toward the area.

The Truman, along with two of the destroyers and a cruiser in its strike group, is now in the Red Sea. And the Vinson, along with two destroyers and a cruiser, is in the Gulf of Aden.

In this photo taken from video released by Al Masirah TV channel shows a burning oil tanker after U.S. airstrikes targeted the Ras Isa oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in Hodeida, Yemen, Friday, April 18, 2025.( Al Masirah TV via AP)

The third destroyer assigned to the Truman is in the Mediterranean Sea. And two other U.S. Navy destroyers are in the Red Sea, but aren’t part of the Truman’s group.

Hegseth is weighing whether to grant a request by U.S. Central Command to once again extend the Truman’s deployment. A decision to do that could keep the Truman and at least some of its strike group in the region for several more weeks.

It has been rare in recent years for the U.S. to have two aircraft carriers in the Middle East at the same time. Navy leaders have generally been opposed to the idea because it disrupts ship maintenance schedules and delays time at home for sailors strained by the unusually high combat tempo.

Last year, the Biden administration ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier to remain in the Red Sea for an extended time, as U.S. warships waged the most intense running sea battle since World War II.

Prior to that it had been years since the U.S. had committed that much warship power to the Middle East.

The Houthis have been waging persistent missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership has described as an effort to end the Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

From November 2023 until this January, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually.

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN

NEW YORK (AP) — Female bonobos find strength in numbers, teaming up to fend off males in the wild, a new study finds.

Related Articles

Trump science cuts roil university labs, targeting bird feeder research, AI literacy work and more

A new Minnesota cover crop could help make air travel greener, UMN St. Paul researchers say

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH slashed science funding across states that backed Trump

The ‘return’ of an extinct wolf is not the answer to saving endangered species, experts warn

How to catch the shooting stars of spring’s first meteor shower, the Lyrids

Along with chimpanzees, bonobos are among humans’ closest relatives. Scientists have long wondered why bonobos live in generally female-dominated societies since the males are physically bigger and stronger.

Three decades of observations in Congo — the only place the endangered bonobos are found in the wild — lend support to the idea of a sisterhood where female bonobos band together to assert their power.

These girl groups chased male bonobos out of trees, securing food for themselves, and females that grouped more ranked higher in their community’s social ladder, researchers found.

This image provided by Martin Surbeck shows bonobos lounging on a fallen tree in the Congo in 2020. (Martin Surbeck/Kokolopori Bonobo Research Project via AP)

“It’s very clear that you don’t want to overstep as a male bonobo,” said study author Martin Surbeck from Harvard University.

Findings were published Thursday in the journal Communications Biology.

Female bonobos’ combined numbers seem to turn the tide against a male’s physical strength, Surbeck said. It’s one of the rare times such a strategy has allowed females to come out on top in the animal kingdom. Spotted hyenas similarly find power in groups.

Female bonobos linked up even when they didn’t have close ties, supporting one another against the males and cementing their social standing. The observations show how female bonobos work together to protect themselves from male violence, said biological anthropologist Laura Lewis with the University of California, Berkeley.

This image provided by Martin Surbeck shows bonobos resting and socializing on a fallen tree in the Congo in 2020. (Martin Surbeck/Kokolopori Bonobo Research Project via AP)

The findings support “the idea that humans and our ancestors have likely used coalitions to build and maintain power for millions of years,” Lewis, who was not involved with the research, said in an email.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.