In the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota, a violent encounter on the afternoon of July 27, 2023, ended the life of 30-year-old Jermaine Ray John Baker. An African American male, Baker was fatally shot shortly after 2 p.m. near a bus shelter at the intersection of Earl Street and East 3rd Street. The scene, located near the American Indian Magnet School, was quickly processed by the police forensics team, who found bloody clothes in the street.
The events that
culminated in Baker's death began to unfold as he got off a bus and approached a woman and another man at the bus stop. According to witnesses and a criminal complaint, Baker began to physically assault the woman, who was later identified as his ex-girlfriend. He allegedly struck her, pulled her by the hair, and knocked her to the ground. The woman later informed police that she and Baker had been in a relationship for four years and that he had a history of assaulting her, though she had never reported it.
The man with the woman at the bus stop, 31-year-old Lazarus Lamar Burns II, was her current boyfriend. As Baker was reportedly turning to leave after the assault, Burns allegedly drew a gun and shot him multiple times. Baker collapsed in the street and was pronounced dead at the scene from two gunshot wounds to the torso.
Lazarus Burns was taken into custody by police a short distance from the scene and a loaded firearm was recovered. He was subsequently charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Burns told investigators that he had told Baker to stop the assault multiple times before he "blacked out" and shot him. He also stated he was on his way to call the police when he was apprehended. Burns was being held at the Ramsey County Jail following his arrest.
