St. Paul murder charges: Convicted murderer, another inmate charged in 2022 shooting
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A convicted murderer and another man already serving prison time for a weapons case are now facing charges for a 2022 homicide in St. Paul.
Deadly St. Paul shooting charges
What we know:
Diontae Keyshawn Moore, 26, and Romello Ifonlaja-Randle, 26, are both charged with second-degree murder for a deadly shooting off Rice Street near Born's Bar in St. Paul.
The shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2022.
Serving time:
Both men are already serving time in prison. Moore's listed address is the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault and Ifonlaja-Randle's address is listed as Rush City.
Court records show Ifonlaja-Randle was convicted last year in a 2023 deadly shooting on Rasbberry Island in St. Paul that left a 20-year-old man dead. Authorities said at the time they believed that the shooting was gang-related.
Ifonlaja-Randle pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and possession of a firearm charges in that case, with authorities dismissing other weapons and gang counts. He was sentenced to more than 32 years behind bars. He is currently scheduled to be released from prison in 2043.
Moore is serving time in Faribault on a weapons conviction out of Hennepin County. He was expected to be released later this year.
Murder charges in 2022 case
The backstory:
The new complaint states St. Paul police responded shortly before 10 p.m. to a barrage of gunfire on Aug. 31, 2022. Multiple 911 callers reported hearing between 40 and 50 gunshots. One caller said it sounded like automatic gunfire.
At the scene, officers found the victim lying face down in a pool of blood. Surveillance video showed a 2017 Jaguar leaving the area at a high rate of speed immediately after shots were fired. Another video showed a group, including the victim, standing near the Jaguar when the shooting began. Another camera showed an SUV pulled into the alley and parking. Two people exit the SUV, hide waiting behind a garage, then fire shots at the victim. The charges state one of the men near the Jaguar came from the passenger side and ran towards the alley, firing off 20 to 30 shots into the alley.
The SUV then flees the scene after the shooting.
Months later, officers were able to track down the SUV, which they determined was registered with Moore.
When officers tried to stop the Jeep, the charges state Moore rammed a squad and ran inside a building on Prior Avenue North.
Dig deeper:
Police ultimately got a search warrant and searched the building. There they found multiple guns, a drum magazine, and seized a cell phone belonging to Moore. Ifonlaja-Randle was inside the building on Prior Avenue when police arrived to arrest Moore.
Months later, Ifonlaja-Randle was arrested after the shooting on Raspberry Island. That allowed investigators to search his phone for connections to the August 2022 shooting.
Police say using video, cell phone data, ballistic analysis from the seized guns and text messages, they were able to connect both Moore and Ifonlaja-Randle to the August 2022 murder scene.