Minneapolis Man Pleads Guilty To Fatal Bus Stop Shooting
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis man will spend more than 25 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to a shooting at a bus shelter in October, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's office.
Gerald Cepeda, 50, pleaded guilty and was immediately sentenced for second degree murder in the Oct. 13 shooting death of 28-year-old Jessica St. Marie of Wadena.
According to the criminal complaint, the altercation began when Cepeda argued with St. Marie in a convenience store near the intersection of East Lake Street and Park Avenue South. Eventually, Cepeda left and walked to his home on Park Avenue.
On Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors say Cepeda told the court what happened that night. Fifteen minutes after their argument, Cepeda said he said he approached St. Marie, who was standing at the bus shelter on the corner of East Lake Street and Park Avenue South, and shot her twice with a handgun.
Investigators later learned a witness drove by just after the shooting and followed Cepeda as he walked to the alley behind his house.
In court Tuesday, prosecutors say St. Marie's brother read an impact statement about the loss to their family. Cepeda also apologized to the court and the St. Marie family for his crimes.