In the early morning hours of September 1, 2016, Jason Mikulak, a 41-year-old Caucasian male, was fatally shot in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The incident unfolded at approximately 3:56 a.m. while Mikulak and his girlfriend were seated in his parked car on Galtier Street near Orange Avenue. Their quiet moment was shattered when a man, his face partially obscured by a white bandana, approached the vehicle brandishing a handgun.
The assailant demanded money, prompting Mikulak's girlfriend to
place a $20 bill on the roof of the car. As she moved to comply with the gunman's order to bring the money to him, Mikulak made a split-second decision to intervene. He exited the vehicle and attempted to disarm the attacker. A struggle ensued, during which the gunman fired, striking Mikulak twice in the upper chest, abdomen, and arm. The suspect then fled the scene.
Despite the swift response of emergency services, Jason Mikulak succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Saint Paul Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation. Key evidence was recovered from Mikulak's car, including fingerprints that would prove crucial in identifying a suspect. Although Mikulak's girlfriend was unable to identify the assailant from a photo lineup, she provided a detailed physical description to investigators.
The fingerprints lifted from the vehicle were matched to 29-year-old Benjamin Lee Harris, a man with a prior criminal record for armed robbery who was on supervised release at the time of the shooting. A warrant for his arrest had already been issued in July 2016 for violating the terms of his release. Investigators also discovered that Harris's mother lived in the direction the suspect was seen fleeing after the shooting. Harris was located and arrested on September 6, 2016, at a residence in Saint Paul. He was subsequently charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Inside his apartment, authorities found a white bandana matching the description of the one used in the robbery. During questioning, Harris denied his involvement but inadvertently mentioned the $20 bill that had been placed on the car, a detail that had not been publicly released.
