St. Paul robbery, murder accomplice sentenced to 30 years

A man convicted of helping to rob and kill a St. Paul man as he walked home from work in the dark two years ago was sentenced Friday to a 30-year prison term.

Ramsey County judge Paul Yang sentenced 20-year-old Detwan Allen to the term for the 2022 slaying of Alex Becker — the maximum time allowed under state sentencing guidelines. Allen gets 444 days of credit for time served in custody since his arrest. A third of that sentence could be spent on supervised release.

Jurors convicted Allen in December of second-degree intentional murder in the shooting death of Becker, 22. Prosecutors argued that Allen helped two others to rob and kill Becker as he walked home from work in December 2022. Defense attorney Jeremy Plesha argued that his client is entitled to another trial because another accomplice admitted to the crime and testified that Allen was not directly involved in Becker's death.

Plesha asked for a new trial but Judge Yang denied that motion on Friday.

Allen, Arteze Kinerd and Shaun Travis were charged for Becker's murder. During their trials, prosecutors connected police interviews, surveillance footage, cell phone data and witness testimony to show how the three men targeted Becker as he walked home alone that night, two days after Christmas. The three drove past Becker before circling back to park near him. Footage shows the three waiting near a corner before rushing into an alley that Becker entered moments before. Within minutes, gunshots rang through the alley. Kinerd and Travis were recorded leaving the scene in a car allegedly driven by Allen.

Investigators found Becker dead from six gunshot wounds. He was yards from home where his mother was waiting.

During testimony, Travis said he was unaware of plans to rob anyone and believed the group was out to buy marijuana. Judge JaPaul Harris acquitted Travis last December.

"To say I am disappointed in the judge is a gross understatement. He spoke to Travis as if he was lecturing a young person for skipping school," Becker's mother Tara wrote on social media after the acquittal. "I hope Travis takes this enormous gift the judge handed him and starts making efforts to make the world a better place instead of taking good away from the world."

Kinerd pled guilty to second-degree murder for the case. District Judge Nicole Starr is scheduled to sentence him on June 3.