A 17-year-old teenager, J’Veon Jamauri Brown, has been charged as an adult for the shooting death of 16-year-old Antwan Watson in a St. Paul alley. The decision to charge Brown as an adult was made by a Ramsey County judge on Thursday. Brown now faces charges of intentional second-degree murder and second-degree murder while committing a felony. The incident occurred on October 10, 2022. Police responded to a report of a person lying in an alley with multiple gunshot wounds. When they arrived at the scene, officers found Watson lying in an alley with gunshot wounds to the chest.
Video surveillance footage from a nearby home captured three distinct gunshots around 12:12 p.m., shortly before the discovery of Watson’s body. A witness informed the police that he had recorded three males entering the alley a few minutes before the shots were heard. During the investigation, two individuals came forward and identified someone known as “JB” as the shooter. They also mentioned that “JB” was a high school student in St. Paul. Later that day, officers found surveillance footage from the school, which appeared to show Brown “re-enacting the shooting.”
Another teenager, who may have been present at the time of the shooting, provided a crucial eyewitness account. According to court documents, this witness stated that he was walking in front of Watson and Brown in the alley when Watson called out to him. When he turned around, he saw Brown shoot Watson. The police also interviewed a person who had given the trio a car key. This individual claimed that all three of them had guns and had shown them earlier in the day at school. He further alleged that he had witnessed the trio robbing two students on their way to school.
On October 11, 2022, the police located Brown and found a loaded handgun in his possession. During interviews with investigators, Brown changed his story multiple times. He allegedly told the police that he shot Watson because he had heard that Watson and the witness were planning to rob him.