Teen charged as adult for fatal shooting and robbery in St. Paul
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A teen is being charged as an adult after being accused of shooting another teen in St. Paul in February, who died more than a week later.
Maurice Antonio Gaynor Jr., 17, of St. Paul, is charged with second-degree murder for the shooting death of 16-year-old Kalven Sin Suy, of Savage. Gaynor is also charged with first-degree aggravated robbery.
Gaynor’s first appearance is set for the afternoon of Wednesday, March 20, and his bail was set at $1 million with no conditions. He faces up to 40 years in prison for the murder charge and a maximum of 20 years for the aggravated robbery charge if convicted.
A criminal complaint states that St. Paul police first responded to an address at the intersection of Western Avenue North and Topping Street after a woman called to report her boyfriend had been shot.
Arriving officers found Sin Suy suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen with a spent shell casing nearby. Sin Suy was then taken to the hospital, where his condition was described as "grave."
Police then spoke with Sin Suy’s girlfriend who told them she dropped him off in the area after he asked her to drive him there to meet someone he knew.
A few minutes after dropping him off, the girlfriend told police she got a call from Sin Suy saying he had been shot. She then found him and called 911, according to the criminal complaint.
Two days later, investigators interviewed the girlfriend, who explained that Sin Suy was going to meet someone called "50," who met Sin Suy in juvenile detention.
The complaint states that Sin Suy insisted she take him to meet "50" around 12:30 a.m. The girlfriend added that she gave Sin Suy a red and white "Christmas" type of bag from a Bath and Body Works store and that he took it to meet "50" when she dropped him off. The girlfriend said she did not see what he put in the bag, and that the bag was not there when she found him after the shooting.
Court documents say that investigators searched Sin Suy’s phone and reviewed messages between the victim and a number labeled "50" discussing the sale of guns and drugs. Through pictures and video reviewed on the phone, law enforcement determined that "50" is Maurice Antonio Gaynor Jr.
Police then executed a search warrant at an apartment near where Sin Suy was shot and took Gaynor Jr. into custody.
During the search, police recovered a backpack with ammunition inside as well as Gaynor Jr.'s ID. A handgun without a serial number, often referred to as a "ghost gun" was found in a lower-level utility room. Officers also found a distinctive red Bath and Body Works bag that was identified by the girlfriend as being the same bag Sin Suy had when she dropped him off, charges say.
Police then served another search warrant at a different address containing Gaynor Jr.'s bedroom, where they reported finding another gun with an obliterated serial number along with Gaynor Jr.'s school ID.
During an interview with investigators, Gaynor Jr. said he did not know why he was arrested and that he was at his mother’s house at the time of the shooting. He initially denied knowing the victim, then said he knew him by a different name. Gaynor Jr. then said he wasn’t going to lie and that he didn’t have anything to say, according to the complaint.
Gaynor Jr. has previous convictions for first-degree aggravated robbery and is an adjudicated delinquent for first-degree aggravated robbery, first-degree assault causing great bodily harm, and a weapons charge.