Four charged with 2nd-degree murder in St. Paul death

Whoever shot Leon Dewaun May wanted him dead.

May's body was riddled with 15 bullet wounds from at least two handguns, according to court documents. And Monday, four men were charged with second-degree murder in connection with his death.

The criminal complaints were filed against Lee D. Murray, 30; Shaun L. Smith, 29; Damaine McClinton, 34, all of St. Paul, and Jerome K. West, 33, address unknown, in Ramsey County District Court, but don't say who were the shooters. West is a fugitive; the other three are being held in the county jail. All four have extensive criminal records.

St. Paul homicide detectives haven't said what the motive was for killing May, 32, of St. Paul. But the complaints lay out what happened:

Officers responding to a call of shots fired about 11:20 p.m. Thursday found May, barely breathing, lying in a pool of blood on the back porch of a home on the 400 block of Jessamine Avenue E. on the city's East Side. He died a short time later at Regions Hospital.

A friend of the victim told police that May had gotten a call from "Slim" less than 10 minutes before the shooting, asking to buy some "weed."

At the crime scene, police found packages of marijuana and jail-release papers for Murray. Court documents show that Murray had been released on his own recognizance from the Ramsey County jail a day earlier after appearing in court on a probation violation.

Police located Murray at an apartment in Maplewood and arrested him Friday. He denied being involved in a murder, but told police that he'd spent parts of Thursday night with West, Smith and McClinton.

Smith was arrested Saturday at his girlfriend's apartment on the 700 block of E. 6th Street in St. Paul. McClinton also was arrested Saturday.

Investigators found 9mm and .22-caliber handguns in a Dumpster behind an apartment complex on Birmingham Avenue that match the cartridge casings found at the scene.

Murray was convicted in the fatal shooting of a St. Paul teenager, James Lindorff, 16, in 1996. He served 6 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree assault and shortly after his release was shot and severely wounded by the victim's uncle. In July, he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault. He was back before a judge Wednesday on a probation violation.

Smith's record includes convictions for check forgery, burglary, auto theft, domestic assault and various driving violations. McClinton has been convicted of criminal sexual assault, malicious punishment of a child and violating sex offender registration. West's record is mostly drug related.