Charge: St. Paul gunman killed man who came to defense of shooter's girlfriend

A 19-year-old man was charged Monday with fatally shooting a 21-year-old man in the eye during an altercation inside a Frogtown home.

Theotis A. Thomas, of St. Paul, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree murder in connection with the death early Friday of Mark Franklin Jr. in a home in the 600 block of Elfelt Street.

Thomas remains jailed ahead of his first court appearance Monday afternoon.

According to several witnesses cited in the criminal complaint:

Thomas grabbed his girlfriend's neck during an argument, prompting Franklin to slam Thomas down on a bed. Thomas vowed to return to the home with a gun, and he left.

Thomas returned, yelled at Franklin and fired one shot into a wall.

Franklin yelled "put the gun down" and "what are you doing?" before Thomas shot him in the left eye.

The girlfriend's SUV was located, and a law enforcement search turned up a handgun in a sock under the driver's seat. A shell from the scene matched the ammunition in the gun's magazine.

Thomas turned himself in later that day. He said he was "too drunk and stoned to recall" what happened, the complaint read.

As a juvenile, Thomas was convicted of second-degree assault in connection with him stealing a woman's purse and knifing a man who tried to keep Thomas from fleeing.