In the late summer of 2020, the life of a 31-year-old Black or African American man named Ervin L. Dukes III was tragically cut short in Saint Paul, Minnesota. On the afternoon of Saturday, September 12th, police were called to a home in the 800 block of East Lawson Avenue, a residence that had become a frequent source of 911 calls for a variety of disturbances. Inside, they discovered Dukes, who had sustained a gunshot wound to his upper body.
Paramedics arrived at the scene, but his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead. His death marked the city's 24th homicide of the year.
The events that led to this violent end began with a simple argument. According to witnesses, Dukes and another man, 43-year-old Daniel M. Sheppard, were embroiled in a dispute. Sheppard reportedly felt that Dukes had disrespected him, a slight that would escalate to a fatal confrontation. In a sudden act of violence, Sheppard allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Dukes in the chest. In the aftermath of the shooting, Sheppard was said to have pointed the firearm at others in the room before quickly fleeing the scene.
The following day, a sense of unease still lingered over the neighborhood. Two individuals, a man and a woman from Red Wing, were taken into custody in connection with Dukes' death. Daniel M. Sheppard was subsequently charged with two counts of second-degree murder. At the time of his arrest, authorities found him in a car with the gun believed to have been used in the shooting. The 35-year-old woman with him was held on suspicion of aiding and abetting his actions. Sheppard was no stranger to law enforcement, with a criminal history that included convictions for weapons offenses, robbery, and assault.
A bizarre and destructive postscript to the tragedy unfolded in the hours after police had processed the initial crime scene. Early Sunday morning, a man was arrested for attempting to enter the cordoned-off property. Later that morning, after police had cleared the scene, smoke and flames were seen billowing from the house. Firefighters responded to the blaze, which they were able to extinguish without any further injuries. Investigators collected evidence from the charred remains of the home, leading them to believe that the fire was intentionally set, adding another layer of criminality to the already grim location of Ervin Dukes' final moments.
