Victim dies; 18-year-old St. Paul man faces murder charge

An 18-year-old St. Paul man was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder, a day after a man who had been shot in the chest died.

Michael R. Henderson, 46, died Monday when he was taken off life support after 11 days in a coma, court papers say.

That led prosecutors to upgrade charges against Jonathan J. Corbett, who now is charged with second-degree murder and first- and second-degree assault in the Thomas-Dale neighborhood shooting.

Two other men shot in the Sept. 21 dispute between neighbors in the 500 block of Thomas Avenue have since recovered. A bullet grazed a fourth victim's neck.

Corbett's older brother, Carl Antonio Wilks, 27, of St. Paul, remains charged with kidnapping and two counts of second-degree assault.

Criminal complaints say a woman with two young children had been threatened by Wilks, who allegedly told her: "I'll kill you. You aren't going to make it out of here."

As the woman was being threatened, her 8-year-old snuck out back and ran across the street for help. Soon, she saw Wilks and a man with dreadlocks, later identified as Corbett, "pointing guns at people outside the door," the complaint says.

That same evening, the man with dreadlocks -- allegedly Corbett -- was seen standing in the street. One witness, fearful of trouble, said that Corbett was "twitchy," with his hand in his sweatshirt pocket.

When Henderson walked to a sidewalk, the man with dreadlocks began shooting a handgun, striking three people and grazing the fourth, the court papers say.

Witnesses later told police that the gunman fired four to five rounds.

One victim shot in the neck and right shoulder was treated and released. Another victim, shot in the stomach, developed an infection and had been hospitalized in the critical care unit. The victim who was grazed didn't seek medical treatment.

Wilks, in a police interview, would not identify Corbett to officers. But police developed information leading them to Corbett and a witness picked him out of a lineup, the complaint says.