In the early hours of a cold December morning in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the life of 23-year-old Kavonta Lashawn Pratt, a Black / African American male, was tragically cut short. On December 10, 2015, Pratt and his friend, Dominic Larrel Jasper, 26, were fatally shot in an apartment in the city's Uppertown neighborhood. A third man, a friend of Pratt and Jasper, was also critically injured in the attack but managed to survive.
The events unfolded at approximately 12:30 a.m.
when police were dispatched to a residence on Forbes Avenue following a report of shots fired. While en route, officers discovered the surviving victim on the sidewalk near West 7th Street and Smith Avenue, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Back at the Forbes Avenue apartment, police found the bodies of Pratt and Jasper in an upstairs unit.
The investigation quickly revealed a story of jealousy and domestic strife. The shooter was identified as 24-year-old Jamaine Jamie Williams. According to two women who were at the apartment and witnessed the beginning of the assault, Williams was the ex-boyfriend of one of the residents and the father of her children. The former couple had recently broken up, and the woman had started dating Jasper. Her roommate was dating Pratt. Williams had reportedly made threats to "kill everyone in the house" earlier in the week.
On the night of the shooting, Williams came to the apartment and, after his ex-girlfriend opened the door, he forced his way inside, armed with a handgun. The two women fled the apartment and heard multiple gunshots as they escaped. Inside, Williams shot Jasper and Pratt, killing them both. The third victim was also shot multiple times but managed to jump from a second-story window to escape. Williams was arrested later that day and initially denied any involvement, providing a false alibi.
Jamaine Williams was subsequently charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder. A grand jury later indicted him on upgraded charges, including two counts of premeditated first-degree murder. In August 2016, a Ramsey County jury found Williams guilty on five of the six charges. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders of Kavonta Pratt and Dominic Jasper, with an additional 12 years for the attempted murder of the third victim. His conviction was later affirmed on appeal.
