Burnsville man shot at two women in their car in St. Paul

© Provided by Twin Cities Pioneer Press
Handcuffs stock

Authorities say a Burnsville man shot at two women in their car as they were on their way to a grocery store in St. Paul.

Daezon Jaheem Burt, 19, is being charged with two counts of felony assault, according to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court.

The incident took place on Aug. 11, when two women said they were in their Pontiac driving west on Winnipeg Avenue to go to a grocery store on the 800 block of Rice Street, according to authorities. Officers responded to the area at about 8:39 p.m. and found two bullet holes in the Pontiac’s radiator, the complaint said. Two 9mm shell casings also were recovered by officers at the scene.

Load Error

The two women told officers that they saw a man wearing a dark colored face mask and dark clothing near a parked food trailer firing shots at their vehicle while they were inside, according to the complaint.

Surveillance footage from that night captured a silver Cadillac SUV coming to a stop in front of a food trailer on the south side of Winnipeg Avenue. A man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and white shoes stepped into the street next to the food trailer and shot at the Pontiac as it approached, according to the complaint. The man also was seen earlier in front of the grocery store on Rice Street in the Cadillac with another man shortly before the shooting.

Officers identified Burt as the man in the surveillance footage, the complaint said. On Aug. 26, officers saw Burt in the Cadillac and searched the vehicle, where they found a 9mm bullet in the back seat.

On Sept. 4, gang unit officers located Burt as a passenger in a vehicle at Winnipeg Avenue and Rice Street, and took him into custody, the charges said. In an interview with authorities, Burt said he was there at the time of the shooting but that he was not the shooter and there were other people with him at the scene that he did not know.

Burt’s next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday. There is currently not a defense attorney listed on court records.