On the evening of March 31, 2022, a promising life was cut short in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Dion Lamarr Ford Jr., a 21-year-old Black / African American male and a former standout basketball player at St. Paul Central High School, was fatally shot outside a grocery store in the North End neighborhood. The incident, which marked the city's 13th homicide of the year, unfolded around 9:15 p.m.
at the intersection of Maryland Avenue and Arundel Street.
Surveillance footage from the Maryland Supermarket captured the tragic sequence of events. Ford was seen leaving a nearby restaurant with a white plastic bag and walking towards his car when he was confronted by Xavion Tyrece Bell. In what appeared to be an attempted robbery, a gun battle ensued between the two men. Ford, who had a permit to carry a firearm, drew his weapon and fired at Bell, who returned fire. The exchange of gunfire continued until Ford fell to the ground, at which point Bell fired multiple more shots at him. Callers to 911 reported hearing as many as 40 gunshots. When police arrived, they found Ford with a gunshot wound to the head and a handgun partially in his hand; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Xavion Tyrece Bell, 21 at the time, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Ford's death. Bell was also wounded in the shootout, sustaining a gunshot wound to his back. In May 2023, Bell pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. With credit for time served since his arrest, he is expected to serve nearly 19 years of his sentence in prison, with the remainder on supervised release.
Bell's brother, D'Angelo S. Dampier, was also implicated in the incident. Dampier, who was 19 at the time, was charged with aiding an offender and illegal possession of a firearm after he admitted to firing his own weapon during the shootout and taking both his and his brother's guns from the scene. In February 2023, Dampier was sentenced to roughly 24 and a half years in prison and is expected to serve about 16 years. At the time of the shooting, Bell was reportedly out on bond for two other violent crime cases.
