After admitting to robbery attempt, man sentenced to 4 years for role in St. Paul killing

A 33-year-old man has been given a four-year term for his role in a fatal shooting of a man who died on a downtown St. Paul sidewalk.

Jesse W. Gleeson, of St. Paul, was sentenced Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated robbery in connection with the death on Nov. 13, 2022, of Deondrae R. Atkins, 33, of St. Paul. In exchange for his plea, murder charges were dismissed.

Gleeson entered what is known as an Alford plea, meaning he maintains his innocence but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to win a conviction.

With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Gleeson is expected to serve roughly two years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Officers located Atkins' body shortly after 2 a.m. near a loading dock in the 200 block of W. 9th Street.

Gleeson's agreement to plead guilty included dismissal of second-degree murder charges. The criminal complaint said it was another man with Gleeson who shot Atkins.

That man, Keland M.K. Raino, 46, of Minneapolis, was charged on Nov. 18, 2022, with second-degree murder. Raino, who is civilly committed to Regions Hospital for treatment of mental illness, is due back in court on Feb. 7.

However, Raino was then provisionally discharged from the hospital one day later and dropped off by his case worker outside an apartment building in St. Paul, the complaint continued.

According to the charges against both men:

Police and medics dispatched to the scene found Atkins' body on the sidewalk, with "large sums of money in his front pants pocket." People who knew Atkins told police that his car, where they said he lived, was gone. They said he was a fentanyl user who sold the opioid from his vehicle in the area where he was shot. He would often pass out with drugs and money visible on his lap or scattered around the car's interior, they said.

Surveillance video reviewed by law enforcement showed the car parked in the 200 block of 9th Street about 10:10 p.m. Shortly before 12:15 a.m., an SUV parked behind Atkins' car. Nearly 40 minutes later, Raino got out of the SUV and spoke with Atkins. Raino did the same again shortly before 1:30 a.m., this time joined by Gleeson, who also got out of the SUV.

As Gleeson tried to get in the car, Raino shot Atkins, who got out of his vehicle and collapsed on the sidewalk. Gleeson got in the SUV and drove off, and Raino left in Atkins' car.