ST. PAUL (WCCO) – An incident that ended with shots fired, a police chase and a teenager found duct-taped and tied up in a trunk began with an attempted drug deal, according to criminal charges released Friday.
In all, six people were taken into custody after the chase. Officers checked out reports of gunfire near Morton Street and Waseca Avenue at about 11:45 p.m. A 911 caller said two groups of men were fighting with each other, and that one group took off in a silver PT Cruiser.
Police caught up with the car near downtown, but it took off.
Then a State Patrol Trooper later spotted the car and hit it in the side at Jackson Street and Jenks Avenue in St. Paul. The driver lost control, skidded down Jackson Street and finally came to a rest.
One of the men in the car tried running away, but a block later, police quickly arrested him. The man had to be treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder from the original shooting at a local hospital.
Officers opened the trunk of the vehicle and found an 18-year-old man bound and duct-taped inside. He said he wasn’t hurt, and officers didn’t notice any injuries on him either. They questioned him at least twice on Tuesday and took him to his parent’s home.
In total, six people from inside the car were arrested. Devonte Johnson-Hall, Khalil Ali Zeno, Damon Walker, and Montinez Jiles were booked into the Ramsey County Jail. Police also arrested two juveniles.
According to the criminal complaint released on Friday, the man they found tied up was contacted by 18-year-old Zeno, otherwise known as “Hustle,” who asked the victim to buy mushrooms.
When the victim arrived, Zeno reportedly got into his car, and both he and another man pointed guns at the man. He was ordered into a garage, where police say three men robbed him, taped him up and eventually threw him into the trunk.
From there, the victim said he heard the people in his car drive around, roll their windows down, yell gang names and engage in a fight.
At that point, police began chasing the car which, investigators said, was them being driven by Zeno, who had been shot in the back.
According to the criminal complaint, some of the passengers in the car said they didn’t know there was a kidnapped man tied up in the trunk, but then admitted that Zeno said to drive carefully because “there is a guy wrapped up in the back.”
Zeno, of St. Paul, has been charged with kidnapping and motor vehicle theft in connection with the Wednesday incident.
