St. Paul man recently released from prison shot, killed man on Simcoe Street, charges say
UPDATE (July 25, 2024) — Martavious Roby-English entered not guilty please for second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder charges.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A St. Paul man faces charges in connection to a shooting last week in St. Paul, in which a 21-year-old driver was killed in the front seat of a car.
Martavious Roby-English, 21, who had been released from prison in April for a prior second-degree assault charge, now faces second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder charges.
The shooting happened on the 800 block of Simcoe Street around 2:30 a.m. on May 30. Charging documents say police arrived to find Toumai Gaynor, 21, unconscious in the driver's seat of a Toyota Camry; he was taken to the hospital but died hours later.
At the scene, officers found five 9mm shell casings as well as a .45 caliber Glock firearm outside the Camry.
Police spoke to an 18-year-old woman at the scene, who over the course of two police interviews, said that she had been sitting in the car with Gaynor that night. At the same time, she was arguing with Roby-English over text, because he was upset that she was taking too long to come over. The woman said she had been in a relationship with Roby-English for three years, including the time he had been incarcerated, documents say.
She told police that when Gaynor turned the car around, a man in a white hoodie stood directly behind the car and fired, charges say. When she realized who the suspected shooter was, he claimed it was self-defense and Gaynor fired first. Eventually, the woman went to call 911.
The woman admitted that she threw Gaynor's gun out of the car because she didn't want him to get in trouble for having it. When she touched it, she realized it was hot and had been fired, documents say.
According to surveillance video footage from nearby, Roby-English was hiding behind a van parked on Simcoe Street. When the Camry was making a U-turn, he ran down the street, and a male voice said "Get out of the car! Get out of the f****** car or I'll kill you!" Roughly seven gunshots are heard on the video.
Roby-English was arrested on Monday. In a post-Miranda interview, he said that he had sent his girlfriend $250 in cash app to withdraw, but she hadn't done so. When he realized that she was down the street, he told her he was watching her. He saw a man get into her car and ran up to the window. He knocked and yelled "Get the f*** out of the car!" and heard gunshots. He then fired back, documents say.
When his girlfriend asked why he fired his gun, Roby-English responded "I'm sorry, but it was an accident and he shot first," according to the complaint.
He said he checked on Gaynor, but he was moving so he fled because he did not want to get shot. He said he later learned that Gaynor was one of the boyfriends that his girlfriend had been "messing with" since he had been in prison, charges say.
Roby-English said he fired a Taurus 9mm gun that belonged to his cousin. The next day, he told his friend what happened, and said he regretted his decision, according to documents.
The second-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years. He previously was convicted of a second-degree assault charge for a case in which an innocent bystander was shot in the heel while he was sitting in his minivan. Charging documents say that Roby-English and others got into a gang-related shootout in a store parking lot in October of 2020. He was also convicted of a separate second-degree assault charge in 2022.
Roby-English's bail was set at $1.5 million during his first court appearance on Wednesday, and he was issued a domestic no-contact order. His next hearing is scheduled for July 25.
