Man Charged With Killing GF While Holding Their Baby
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A St. Paul man faces murder charges for allegedly shooting the mother of his young child in the face on Easter morning, court documents filed in Ramsey County say.
Dimitri Devonte Harrell, 21, faces one count of second-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Samirria White. Police said she died early Sunday morning at the apartment she shared with Harrell on the 800 block of Pierce Butler Route.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to the apartment around 3:40 a.m. on a report of a shooting. When medics got to the scene, they pronounced White dead.
Several witnesses who were in the apartment told police that Harrell and White were arguing shortly before the shooting happened. Many of them said that Harrell and White were together in a bedroom with their 3-month-old child, yelling at each other when a single gunshot rang out.
Before Harrell fled the scene, he said he didn't mean to shoot White, witnesses told police.
Later, Harrell told police his relationship with White had been rocky, since he'd also had another young child with another woman.
Harrell's father brought him into police headquarters, the criminal complaint said.
Harrell told police he accidentally shot his girlfriend. He said he was trying to pull the gun from his pocket while holding their baby when it went off. He said he'd purchased the gun days earlier and knew it had safety features.
Harrell is currently in custody in lieu of $200,000 bail.
If convicted, Harrell faces up to 40 years behind bars.
