St. Paul Man Charged With Recklessly Firing Gun After Wife's Purse Stolen

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 50-year-old St. Paul man faces charges for allegedly firing his handgun at a woman and her vehicle after his wife's purse was stolen, according to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office.

According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 13, Matrix Richard Lee and his wife were sitting on a bench watching ducks at Lake Como in St. Paul. At some point, Lee noticed a woman get out of their parked car carrying his wife's purse and get into a car parked nearby.

Lee then immediately got up and ran towards the woman and her car to try and get the purse back. As she drove through the parking lot, Lee yelled for her to stop and she lifted her arm in the air, making some sort of gesture. Lee could not see if she had anything in her hand and, afraid he was going to be shot, he grabbed his sidearm and fired around at the vehicle, the complaint said.

Lee fired an additional shot at the car when the driver gave him the middle finger, according to the complaint.

When later talking to police, Lee said he must not have locked his vehicle's doors and that he was attempting to shoot out the fleeing car's tires.

A witness, who was in the parking lot at the time of the incident, told police she was backing out of her parking spot when she heard a loud "pop." Thinking she popped a tire, she stopped her car. That's when she saw a white car screeching out of the parking lot and speeding north on Lexington Parkway. She said Lee then used the hood of her car to take a steady shot at the fleeing car while yelling a profanity at the suspected thief.

The witness told police she was so frightened by the incident that she fled the scene, but came back when she realized police would want to talk with her.

Lee was issued a permit to carry a pistol on May 6, 2014. Officers recovered the permit, handgun and found two spent casings in the park's parking lot.

Lee now faces one count of dangerous discharge of a firearm and reckless discharge of a firearm, both felonies with maximum sentences of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine per charge.