Man charged with aiding and abetting murder in Alex Becker shooting
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A 20-year-old Minneapolis man has been charged in connection to the death of Alex Becker, who was killed late at night in St. Paul while walking home from work.
Arteze Kinerd was charged in Ramsey County for aiding and abetting second-degree homicide. He made his first court appearance on Thursday morning and his bail was set at $2 million.
Becker, 22, was shot and killed on the 500 block of Lawson Avenue West on Dec. 27. He had punched out at his workplace - a plumbing supply warehouse - at 11:15 p.m. and was walking home because of the warm weather.
MORE: Family mourns "fun loving kid" Alex Becker, the record 40th homicide victim in St. Paul in 2022
Charging documents say a black car drove past Becker at 11:50 p.m. At 11:53 p.m., three men can be seen on surveillance video running down the alley between Lawson and Hatch avenues, where Becker had turned into a minute before.
The video system recorded eight gunshots fired. Footage then showed two people get into the black car and flee the scene.
Documents go on to say the car was reported stolen out of Brooklyn Center on Dec. 26. It was found on Jan. 2 in Minneapolis, about three blocks from where a phone was taken from a home invasion robbery. The phone pinged, leading investigators to Kinerd's apartment. Kinerd was arrested on Tuesday at a gas station.
Investigators learned that three men had left the apartment on the night of Becker's death, wearing clothing that matched the suspects' clothing in the alley surveillance video. Officers executed a search warrant at the apartment, finding a .22 short revolver and two magazines loaded with 9mm ammunition. Kinerd's phone also showed a Google search for Minnesota murders in December of 2022.
When interviewed by investigators, Kinerd refused to answer where he was on the night of the murder. However, he did ask how much time he would get for murder.
