A teenager has admitted to shooting a man in the head along a well-traveled St. Paul thoroughfare over what prosecutors say was a dispute over a relationship.
Jehovah M. Nelson, 19, agreed Tuesday to plead guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the shooting on Nov. 5, 2024, of Dejuan Hemphill, 24, of St. Paul, who died 10 days after he was found shot near Rice Street and University Avenue in the Frogtown neighborhood.
The County Attorney’s Office and the defense agreed to a 12½-year sentence for Nelson, who remains jailed ahead of sentencing on Dec. 2. With credit for time in custody since his arrest, Nelson is expected to serve the slightly less than eight years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
An alleged accomplice, Kenneth E. Terry, 19, of St. Paul, remains jailed in lieu of $2.5 million bail on charges of second-degree murder and attempted murder ahead of a court hearing on Nov. 18.
Terry and Nelson tracked Hemphill and two others for four blocks on University Avenue before Nelson shot Hemphill and fled with Terry.
Hemphill was taken to Regions Hospital, where he died Nov. 15 from a gunshot wound to the head.
Police spoke with a woman who had a child with Terry, and she told them the shooting was sparked by her relationship with another man.
