Final suspect convicted in murder, dismemberment of St. Paul man

(FOX 9) - The man charged for his role in the murder and dismemberment of a St. Paul man in 2021, whose body was found in buckets dumped in Lake Superior, had been found guilty of murder in northern Minnesota.

The Minnesota Attorney General's Office announced the conviction of Jacob Johnson on Wednesday. Robert Thomas West was convicted in February of accessory after the fact to murder while Tommi Hintz pleaded guilty to a count of aiding an offender.

Prosecutors say Johnson was the gunman who shot the victim, Ricky Balsimo, in June 2021. Investigators said Balsimo was killed in St. Paul during a dispute in a vehicle. Johnson has claimed he acted in self-defense in the shooting. Officials said Johnson took Balsimo's body to Superior, Wisconsin where he and West dismembered it.

A missing person alert for Ricky Balsimo was issued before his body was discovered. (Minnesota BCA/St. Paul Police Department / FOX 9)

Balsimo's body was subsequently placed into several buckets and a tote. West then transported the body to Grand Portage and dumped it into Lake Superior.

Johnson is set to be sentenced on the two counts of murder in September. West and Hintz are scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

The Attorney General's Office handled the shocking case at the request of the Cook County Attorney.