Man convicted of 2 charges and acquitted of 4 in fatal 2023 St. Paul shooting
A jury has convicted a 54-year-old man of two charges and acquitted him of four others in the 2023 St. Paul shooting that killed two men and injured three others.
Court records show that John Lee Edmondson of St. Louis Park was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Larry "Chef Hot Hands" Jiles Jr. and illegal possession of a firearm. He was found not guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree felony murder in Jiles' death, and second-degree murder and second-degree felony murder in the death of Troy Kennedy.
The Feb. 25, 2023 shooting happened outside a celebration of life ceremony on North Dale Street near University Avenue.
According to the criminal complaint, witnesses said Kennedy was walking around with a gun in the parking lot as people were leaving the event. Jiles heard a commotion, witnesses said, and came out with a gun.
The complaint says witnesses then saw Edmondson drive up, get out of his vehicle, walk over to Jiles and put an arm around him before shooting him three times in the head and neck.
Witnesses say Edmondson then fired six to seven shots "from his hip at everyone in the parking lot," striking Kennedy, another man and two women, charges say. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office says Kennedy bled to death.
Charges state investigators spoke to a witness who said the shooting may have been connected to someone "working with the police and snitching."
Edmondson is scheduled to be sentenced on June 11. A judge may sentence him to more than the 40-year maximum sentence that a second-degree murder charge holds for having more than two prior convictions for violent crimes, court records say.
The original airdate of the above video is Feb. 26, 2023.
