Second Man Charged In Fatal Shooting Of Dion Ford In St. Paul
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) - A second man has been charged in connection to the shooting death of St. Paul Central basketball standout Dion Ford, who was killed outside a convenience store on Thursday.
D'Angelo Dampier, 19, faces charges for aiding an offender and ineligible possession of a firearm. His alleged accomplice, 21-year-old Xavion Bell, was charged with second-degree murder last week.
According to charging documents, Dampier said in a post-Miranda interview that he and a friend dropped Bell off at the supermarket on 444 Maryland Avenue West on Thursday evening, and left to go to a friend's house.
Bell, in that time, followed Ford into the supermarket and approached him as he was carrying groceries to his car. Video footage shows the two of them interacting before Ford pulled out a gun and shot Bell. Bell then returned fire, striking Ford. He continued to fire an additional 13 times after Ford stopped moving, according to the charges.
Dampier said in the interview that he heard gunshots and returned to the supermarket with his friend. When he arrived, he said he fired his own 9mm handgun 5-6 times, though he denied hitting Ford.
By the time officers arrived around 9:15 p.m., Dampier and his friend were loading Bell into their car. Bell was taken to a nearby hospital.
Dampier also confessed to taking Bell's gun and putting it in his pocket to "protect Bell," the documents say. Officers executed a search warrant on Sunday and found several handgun magazines, ammunition, and loose rounds of various caliber at Bell's home. He has a prior adjudication for simple robbery that makes him ineligible to possess firearms.
Ford is remembered by coaches and family as an energetic and caring person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. After graduating from St. Paul Central, he played basketball at the collegiate level in North Dakota and Wyoming. Family members say he had gotten his concealed carry permit after returning to Minnesota last year, fearing danger on the streets of St. Paul.
