On a spring afternoon in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on May 3, 2019, the life of 21-year-old Marquez Perry-Banks of Maplewood was tragically cut short. The young Black / African American male was in the parking lot of the Maryland Supermarket in the city's North End when violence erupted. Around noon, a Jeep Commander pulled up, and a man emerged, opening fire on Perry-Banks as he sat in the driver's seat of his own vehicle.
Bystanders rushed to the aid of Perry-Banks, who had collapsed in
the parking lot, but his injuries were too severe, and he died at the scene. When police arrived at the corner of West Maryland Avenue and Arundel Street, they discovered a harrowing scene, with 13 shell casings scattered around Perry-Banks's Hyundai. The brazen nature of the midday shooting sent shockwaves through the community.
The investigation into the death of Marquez Perry-Banks moved swiftly. Utilizing surveillance footage from the scene, which captured the entire incident, authorities were able to identify a suspect. Within hours of the shooting, police located and arrested 28-year-old Lavelle Darvon Brown of Saint Paul.
Ramsey County prosecutors formally charged Brown with second-degree intentional murder and murder during a drive-by shooting. Court filings revealed that Brown had a history of felony convictions, including domestic assaults and being a felon in possession of a firearm. At the time of the shooting, he had another pending case in Ramsey County District Court for allegedly discarding an AK-47 assault rifle while fleeing from police.
