St. Paul man who fatally shot man in pickup, later shot another man gets 25 years

Consecutive sentences of more than 25 years were given Monday to a 29-year-old man who fatally shot one man in the head as the victim sat in his pickup truck outside his St. Paul home, then four days later wounded another man heading to church.

Kavion Jayvon Barnett of St. Paul was sentenced in Ramsey County District Court after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the shooting of 57-year-old James J. King Sr. around 9:45 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2022, in the 200 block of Front Avenue. King died on March 1.

Barnett also admitted to second-degree assault and drive-by shooting stemming from his wounding a man in the arm on the Earl Street overpass on Feb. 13, 2022, as the man was driving his family to church in St. Paul.

Barnett received 22⅓ years for the murder and nearly 3½ years more for the second shooting. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Barnett is expected to serve more than 15 years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

According to the criminal complaints:

After King was discovered in his drive with the gunshot wound to the head, police located a .45-caliber casing that would end up matching the Earl Street shooting.

A witness to King's shooting reported seeing the driver of a minivan pointing a gun out of the driver's side window before hearing gunfire. Police traced the minivan to Barnett, and surveillance video revealed it was also used in the Earl Street shooting. In the video, an officer identified Barnett and another man, Delaquay Williams, getting out of the minivan and leaving the vehicle in the middle of the road. Officers found fingerprints on the minivan from Barnett and Williams.

Barnett was arrested, and a gun was found in a diaper bag at his home. He said he didn't mean to kill King, only to scare him after the two had confrontations about loud music. When asked about the Earl Street shooting, Barnett said he saw a car on the bridge slow down and he shot "because he thought it was an opposing gang member in the car," the complaint said.

Williams, 27, of St. Paul is charged with second-degree intentional murder in the death of Regis A. Jones, 31, of St. Paul, who was shot in the head and died on March 3, 2022, in the 600 block of Blair Avenue. Casings determined the same gun was used in all three shootings. Williams remains jailed and is due back in court on May 31.