A 50-year-old Minneapolis man has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a woman at a bus stop, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Monday.

Gerald Cepeda was charged in the death of Jessica Denise St. Marie, 28, of Wadena, Minn. He is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday. Prosecutors are seeking $1 million bail.

"At the moment, we cannot answer why Ms. St. Marie was shot," Freeman said. "But because of the help of several witnesses, police were able to identify a suspect, and today we were able to charge him with second-degree murder."

Police were called to a shooting at the bus shelter at Park Avenue and Lake Street around 7 p.m. Oct. 13. According to a man who was with St. Marie, about 10 minutes before the shooting, Cepeda came to where they were standing near the bus shelter and started arguing with her. He left, but returned later as he and St. Marie were sitting on the bus shelter's bench.

Cepeda pulled out a revolver, fired two shots, one of which struck St. Marie in the head, and fled, according to the criminal complaint.

Another man heard gunshots as he was driving near the bus shelter. He saw one of the three people there start walking south on Park Avenue. The man drove around the block and followed Cepeda until he turned into an alley behind houses in the 3100 block of Oakland and Park Avenues, the complaint said.

Another witness, a clerk at the Shell service station near the bus stop, reported that Cepeda, a regular customer, was there and used the automated teller machine before the shooting. Through bank records, police learned Cepeda had used his mother's electronic benefits transfer card in the ATM, the complaint states.

Police searched his home, and Cepeda agreed to talk to police. He said he saw the victim and the man with her at the bus stop and thought about asking her for a cigarette, but she appeared agitated. Cepeda said he then heard three gunshots and he walked quickly home, according to the complaint.

David Chanen