3 charged in connection to ghost gun-related fatal shooting in North St. Paul
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Three people are facing criminal charges in connection with the ghost gun-related shooting death of Anthony Rojas Monday night in North St. Paul.
The Ramsey County Attorney's Office says two 19-year-olds were charged with second-degree murder, including Steven Terry. A third person, 36-year-old Kimberly Nicole Terry, is charged with possession of a firearm that doesn't have a serial number. Steven Terry also faces that charge.
The criminal complaint states that police were called to an apartment building on the 2100 block of McKnight Road just after 6 p.m. Monday. Inside an apartment, officers found Rojas with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later.
Officers also found a shotgun and a bulletproof vest on the hallway floor, plus "two open and empty gun safes, a 3D printer, a money counter, boxes of ammunition, and rifle magazines in the apartment," the complaint said.
Police learned that earlier in the day, Rojas had posted a photo to social media "that showed thousands of dollars in cash laid out on his bed at his apartment." Police say that money wasn't in the apartment when they were there.
Investigators believed Rojas used the 3D printer to make untraceable firearms, also known as ghost guns, the complaint said.
Someone called 911 minutes after police arrived at the apartment to report seeing an armed teen abandon two bags full of firearms a couple of blocks away. Police say the bags contained 15 Glock 9mm handguns, an AR-style firearm, and two large-capacity magazines. One of the guns was loaded and had blood on the grip.
Neighbors told police several men and one woman had been "partying" in Rojas' apartment that day. At one point, two men entered his apartment, while a woman waited outside, and a gunshot was heard. People then fled the scene, including the two men and the woman - all three carrying bags.
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According to the complaint, Rojas' mother later identified the woman with the two men as her son's new girlfriend.
The next day, police watched that woman's St. Paul residence, and saw a woman and a man leave and get into an Uber. Officers stopped the Uber in Burnsville and identified the passengers as Steven Terry and his mother. A bag in their possession had a ghost gun inside that matched those at Rojas' apartment. Both were arrested.
Terry's mother told police that she had found the gun on her porch and thought her husband was "setting her up." She was initially charged with possession of a firearm but that charge was later dropped.
The girlfriend surrendered herself to law enforcement on Wednesday. Two other people suspected in the shooting have not been located or taken into custody.
If convicted, the girlfriend and Steven Terry face up to 40 years in prison on their murder charges.
[Editor's note: A previous version of this story identified the girlfriend, who was facing two charges of second-degree murder. Those charges have since been dismissed for lack of evidence, so her name has been removed.]
