Annamarie Wagener, a 41-year-old Caucasian woman, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of Thursday, September 3, 2020, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The incident occurred shortly before 3:40 a.m. near the intersection of Arcade Street and East Cook Avenue in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood. Responding police officers discovered Wagener with gunshot wounds to her chest and leg. Despite attempts to render aid, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy later revealed that she had been shot six times. At the time of the shooting, another woman was also severely wounded.
Feeling that her neighborhood was unsafe, Annamarie Wagener had recently obtained a permit to carry a firearm. Investigators believed from the outset that she and her attacker were acquainted. Her death marked the 23rd homicide in Saint Paul for that year, a significant increase in gun violence compared to the previous year. The night of her death was particularly violent, with two other separate shootings occurring within a few hours, leaving another woman in grave condition and a man with non-life-threatening injuries.
In November 2020, authorities charged Antoine Lorenzo Powell, then 34 years old, with second-degree murder for Wagener's death. Powell, a man with a significant and violent criminal history, was already in custody at the Hennepin County Jail on a separate matter when the charges were filed. His prior convictions included offenses for weapons, drugs, and assault. At the time of the shooting, Powell was on probation for a 2014 weapons offense.
In August 2021, Antoine L. Powell pleaded guilty to second-degree unintentional murder in Ramsey County District Court. As part of a plea agreement, he was expected to receive a sentence of just over 11 years in prison. With credit for time served since his arrest, he would spend approximately seven and a half years incarcerated, with the remainder of the sentence to be served on supervised release. A motive for the shooting was not publicly disclosed by police or prosecutors.
