4 teens charged in St. Paul robbery, possible tie to 1 suspect's death

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Four teenagers have been charged with aggravated robbery, auto theft and reckless discharge of a firearm potentially in connection with a stolen car and robbery that left another teen suspect dead last week in St. Paul.

On July 31, a man had reported his silver sedan missing from the 1100 block of East 6th Street around 4:40 a.m., and about 10 minutes later, police were dispatched to Cub Foods on Clarence Street after another man reported he’d been robbed, a silver sedan used as the getaway car.

At about 10:30 that night, investigators said 4 teenage boys tried to rob 2 adults near Summit Avenue and Mississippi River Boulevard. Police said 16-year-old Lavauntai Broadbent of West St. Paul was wearing a mask and a glove when he pulled a handgun. The man, in fear of his life, had a permit to carry and fatally shot the teen, charges said. The man told police he had been near the bluffs to observe the blue moon and struck up a conversation with a woman there whom he didn't know.

According to charges, the woman said the man shot his own gun 5 or 6 times, told her to call 911 an took off his shirt to try and stop the bleeding. Facebook helped police track down Malcolm Golden, 17, who posted “Man Man” had been shot, referring to Broadbent. Golden admitted to police had had been at the park the night before Broadbent was shot with Kendell Lewis and Donte Foster, both 16.

On August 1, police located the stolen silver sedan with different license plates and found the Cub Foods robbery victim’s debit card and other property inside. Foster admitted to stealing the car on July 30 with Broadbent, Golden, Lewis and 17-year-old Nautica Cox.

A memorial service for Broadbent was held the next day at Monument Park, and during the service, a white Mercedes crashed into several monuments and a water fountain, shots were fired and people fled the scene. Officers stopped a Dodge Magnum at the scene, and found 5 people inside, including Cox and seized two guns from the car. Cox told police he was at the service and jumped into the Dodge when he heard the crash, but denied knowing about the guns.

Also, according to charges:

“Officers investigated Fosters’s statement that Broadbent had stated ‘on SBG, let’s do this’ before he attempted to rob [the man at the bluffs.] Investigators believe SBG stands for ‘Shoota Boy Gang.’ Investigators are familiar with the SBG and its members. Investigators obtained social media postings by Broadbent where he admitted being a member of the SBG gang and seized pictures of him flashing gang signs.”