Rift over illicit drug buy sparked latest in string of St. Paul homicides, charges say

A 38-year-old man was charged Thursday in the latest of a string of St. Paul homicides, this one a dispute over illicit drugs that left the gunman and victim running down a neighborhood sidewalk as numerous shots were fired.

Contreal T. "Fatboy" Bush of Minneapolis was charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death Tuesday night of 36-year-old Terry L. Edwards. Bush remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail before a court appearance Friday.

Edwards was shot near the intersection of N. Mendota Street and E. Fremont Avenue. Police responded about 7:30 p.m. and found Edwards on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the chest. Emergency responders declared him dead.

His death is St. Paul's 22nd homicide this year and the city's eighth so far this month amid a surge in gunfire in many neighborhoods that has its citizens, visitors and civic leadership on edge and struggling to reverse the violence.

According to the criminal complaint:

Edwards went to a home on Mendota Street to buy drugs but was unhappy with what he purchased, prompting him to argue with a few other males.

A witness said he saw Bush shooting at Edwards as the two ran south down the sidewalk. Edwards collapsed in the driveway of a home around the corner on Fremont, and Bush fled on foot.

A resident on Mendota said he stepped outside and saw Bush and Edwards arguing about drugs, and he told them to leave. The resident went back in his home, looked out a window and saw Bush shoot Edwards with about nine rounds.

Authorities caught up with Bush leaving a home in south Minneapolis. Under police questioning, he said he had left the area about an hour before the gunfire.

Bush said he knew nothing about the shooting and requested an attorney.

Edwards moved to St. Paul from Chicago about 10 years ago, said his sister, Sari Edwards. According to Minnesota court and corrections records, he was released from St. Cloud prison on Aug. 19. He had been sentenced to 21 months for a felony assault conviction and served about a year. He was still under court supervision at the time of his death.