Man Charged With Murder In Shooting Outside St. Paul Bar

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A 27-year-old St. Paul man is accused of murder in the shooting death of a 25-year-old man outside a St. Paul Bar early Saturday morning, according to charges filed in Ramsey County Court.

Nyemah Rodney-Kigee Kiyee was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Ahmed Ismail outside Arnellia's Bar and Restaurant at about 2 a.m. Saturday.

According to a criminal complaint, a man identified as "LM" was working when Ismail visited him, asking what time he was done with work and if he wanted to do something after. The man was done at midnight and the two met up with a group of people before going to the "Mama Africa" production at Arnellia's.

The complaint states they knew they were too late to get in, but wanted to interact with women who were coming out of the bar. As they drove up, there was a commotion on the sidewalk in front of the bar and a black male was being held back by a group of people. Some people in the group had been pepper-sprayed.

Two men had gotten into an altercation, and Ismail approached one of them to find out what was going on. The man, later identified as Kiyee, pulled out a handgun and told Ismail to get back. According to the complaint, Kiyee pointed the gun and shot Ismail in the face. Ismail was taken to Regions Hospital, where he later died.

Investigators spoke with Ismail's friends, who said they were getting close to the bar when they saw the commotion on the sidewalk. The complaint states bar security had used pepper-spray on the crowd. A security guard who had been working the event at the bar told investigators he and another security guard had heard about an altercation in the bathroom so they went to investigate.

The bouncer saw his cousin in an argument, and the cousin threw a bottle on the floor before throwing a punch at the man and missing. The man was removed from the bathroom, but the bouncer's cousing began fighting with another man who had entered the bathroom. He was eventually escorted out of the bathroom and to the front door. The bouncer's cousing became enraged outside after three people came out and started "talking nonsense," the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Kiyee pulled up his shirt, displayed a handgun and showed it to others who were in the altercation. The crowd began to yell "pull it," and the shooting happened minutes later.

Witnesses say Kiyee had been involved in another incident a month earlier at the Eritrean Community Center. A man had walked to Kiyee's car, where he opened the trunk and showed him a shotgun. He shot at the car that belonged to the man he had been arguing with, the complaint states.

Kiyee was identified in a photo lineup and later arrested in Crystal. He told officers he was at Arnellias that night, went outside and saw a confrontation. He said he tried to diffuse the situation for a few minutes but left because he didn't want anything to do with it.

Kiyee has a previous conviction for third-degree assault. He had gotten into an argument with his girlfriend, walked across the street and got into an argument with a man and broke that man's jaw.

If convicted, Kiyee faces up to 40 years in prison.