MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 57-year-old New Brighton man has been charged in Monday night’s double shooting that left a man dead and a woman injured.
Neal Curtis Zumberge has been charged with one count of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Todd Stevens. He’s also charged with one count of second-degree attempted murder in the shooting Jennifer Cleven, 48.
According to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, New Brighton Police were called at about 8:30 p.m. Monday to the 2500 block of Knollwood Drive on a report that two people had been shot.
Police were familiar with the address as there had been an ongoing dispute between neighbors. When authorities arrived, they found Stevens on the ground with several gunshot wounds to his upper body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police found Cleven inside the home, bleeding from two gunshot wounds to her abdomen. The complaint says he yelled to police, “He shot us, I knew he was going to do this!” She told police Zumberge was the one who shot her.
She was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment.
The complaint states she saw Zumberge’s son earlier that night at a New Brighton restaurant. He was wanted by Spring Lake Park Police for threatening both Stevens and Cleven on April 29 at the New Brighton VFW. He accused them of causing his father to contract Lyme disease because they had been feeding the deer in their yard. He also allegedly threatened to burn down their house. Police were called and he was arrested just before 6 p.m. Monday at his home.
According to the complaint, Clevens then drove home and encountered Neal Zumberge’s wife, Paula Zumberge, as she was going into her house. The woman yelled at her, “You f—— b—-. You put my son in jail.” Stevens heard the confrontation and came outside, and Neal Zumberge appeared with a shotgun and fired several rounds at both of them.
Stevens fell to the ground and Clevens was hit in the stomach but managed to get back inside the home, according to the complaint. She called police and hid around the corner as gunshots continued to come into the house. She could hear Paula Zumberge yelling, “Shoot, shoot, shoot, keep shooting,” while Neal Zumberge allegedly continued to fire a shotgun.
Police saw gunshot damage to the front of the home. Paula Zumberge was not at the home when police arrived.
The complaint states that Neal Zumberge told authorities he had a tumultuous relationship with Stevens, going back 15 years. He told police he came out of his basement through an egress window and shot Stevens with a 12-gauge shotgun. He told police he didn’t intend to shoot Cleves. He said he left the shotgun in the basement of his home.
Police later discovered the shotgun where Zumberge said he left it, but it didn’t contain any ammunition. Authorities found four shells from a 12-gauge shotgun at the front of Stevens’ home.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner said Stevens died from cerebral lacerations and gunshot wounds to the head, chest, abdomen and extremities. His death has been ruled a homicide.
If convicted, Neal Zumberge faces up to 40 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and up to 20 years in prison on the second-degree attempted murder charge.
