Man charged in murder of ex-girlfriend in St. Paul now charged in deadly May Minneapolis shooting

Shakee Shabazz Miller-Brantley, 27, of St. Paul was charged Monday with second-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Jessica Williams. 

A man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend at her home in St. Paul, Minnesota over the summer is now facing charges for a deadly shooting in Minneapolis a few months prior. 

Shakee Shabazz Miller-Brantley, 28, of St. Paul, was charged Friday with second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Lawrence Dean Hart Jr., 28, of Cass Lake on May 30. 

According to the charges, officers were dispatched to the area of 12th Avenue South and E. Lake Street at 1:44 a.m. to investigate a shooting. When they arrived, they found a man lying face down in a pool of blood with two apparent gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner determined the victim died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. His death was ruled a homicide. 

City cameras showed a suspect, later identified as Miller-Brantley, get out of a car, shoot the victim twice, including once in the back of his head after he had already fallen down, and rummage through his pockets before leaving the scene, the charges say. 

Miller-Brantley is already charged with murder for allegedly shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend, 27-year-old Jessica Williams, at her home in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood on July 19.

According to the charges filed Friday, investigators determined the same gun was used in both murders. The discharged cartridge casings found at the scene of the Minneapolis murder matched ballistics in the St. Paul homicide. 

Williams’ vehicle, which Miller-Brantley allegedly used to flee the scene of her murder, matched the vehicle seen on the city camera footage from the Minneapolis murder. Miller-Brantley’s physical appearance also matched that of the suspect seen on video shooting the victim. 

Miller-Brantley remains in custody for the St. Paul homicide. He was charged by warrant, rather than summons, in the Minneapolis murder.