On a cold December evening in Saint Paul, Minnesota, a dispute between neighbors escalated into a fatal encounter, claiming the life of 31-year-old Jarrell Kirk, a Black/African American male. The tragic events of December 28, 2021, unfolded at a duplex on the 500 block of Blair Avenue in the Frogtown neighborhood. Kirk, who lived in the upper unit with his father and other family members, had an ongoing feud with his downstairs neighbor, Brandis Junton Wells.
The conflict was reportedly fueled by a woman who had previously been in a relationship with Kirk and was then dating Wells.
That night, a heated argument between Kirk and his ex-girlfriend led to the occupants of the lower unit shutting off the electricity to Kirk's apartment. In response, Kirk, who had a permit to carry a firearm, went downstairs armed with a gun. The confrontation spilled outside, where Wells shot Kirk. When police responded to 911 calls, they found Kirk on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound. He was transported to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later revealed that a gunshot wound to his upper left arm that re-entered his torso was the cause of death, and he also had multiple contusions on his head and face.
The suspect, Brandis Junton Wells, who was 34 years old at the time, fled the scene after the shooting. He remained at large for five days before turning himself in to the police on January 3, 2022. During a police interview, Wells admitted to turning off the power to Kirk's unit and claimed he acted in self-defense, stating he thought Kirk was going to shoot him and that he "just beat him to the draw." He also expressed that he did not intend for Kirk to die.
Wells was subsequently charged with second-degree murder in connection with Jarrell Kirk's death. In a later court proceeding, Brandis J. Wells pleaded guilty to second-degree unintentional murder. He was sentenced in Ramsey County District Court to more than 11 years in prison. With credit for time served since his arrest, he is expected to serve just over six years in prison, with the remainder of his sentence to be served on supervised release.
