In the late afternoon of August 12, 2018, a dice game on a Saint Paul, Minnesota street turned deadly for 21-year-old Devan L. Goode. The young Black man was shot and killed during a robbery in the 1400 block of East 6th Street. Emergency services were called to the scene around 4:30 p.m. following multiple reports of gunfire, and upon arrival, they found Goode in the street.
Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
According to witnesses, several people were engrossed in a dice game when a car pulled up alongside them. A man, later identified as 19-year-old Malik Dontarius Turner, exited the vehicle brandishing a gun and demanded money from the players. During the robbery, Turner pistol-whipped Goode before shooting him. The single gunshot pierced both of Goode's lungs and his heart. After the shooting, the other individuals scattered, and Turner proceeded to grab items from near and on Goode's body before getting back into the car and fleeing the scene.
The investigation into Goode's murder quickly led to a suspect. Shortly after the fatal shooting, Turner appeared in a Facebook Live video where he displayed a large sum of cash. In the video, someone could be heard saying, "real shooters, man." Investigators were able to match the clothing and shoes visible in the video to those worn by the shooter as seen on surveillance footage from the crime scene.
The day after the shooting, police arrested Malik D. Turner at his mother's home in Saint Paul. At the time of his arrest, Turner had a packed suitcase and $332 in his possession. He initially denied any involvement in the shooting or being in that part of the city when it occurred. Turner, who was already under juvenile court jurisdiction for a prior first-degree robbery, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Devan Goode's death. He later pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to an 18-year prison term. As part of his sentence, Turner is required to serve nearly 12 years in prison before being eligible for supervised release and was also ordered to pay $74,000 in restitution. The investigation also suggested a possible link between Goode's death and another fatal shooting that occurred four days later, as the suspects in that case reportedly knew Goode.
