Permit to Carry Works Again

[Fish Felon]

St. Paul teen robbery suspect had troubled history


By CHAO XIONG AND PAUL WALSH , STAR TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
August 03, 2015 - 9:55 PM


St. Paul police said man who shot, killed him had valid gun permit.

Only months before Lavauntai Broadbent, 16, was shot and killed on a St. Paul river bluff in a botched robbery, authorities say he was part of a violent mob of teens that led a rumble inside a downtown St. Paul hotel.

Broadbent, of West St. Paul, died late Friday at Shadow Falls Park when one of the two adults he was threatening at gunpoint drew his own gun — for which he had a permit to carry — and fired, after he and three other juvenile males demanded “items.” Broadbent was wearing a mask and gloves, police said.

Court documents from an April 18 fight at the Embassy Suites Hotel paint a picture of a young man caught up in a culture of gang violence that has claimed several lives in St. Paul while ensnaring innocent bystanders, sometimes fatally.

Details from the hotel fight, along with information released Monday about Broadbent’s death and St. Paul’s youth gang culture, show that easy answers are hard to come by and that many of St. Paul’s young men are swept up in a tit-for-tat cycle of retribution.

“At one point, [Broadbent] is observed kicking someone on the ground and chases another person off camera … [and] saw a guy who had jumped him about a month ago,” said the criminal complaint in the hotel fight.

Photo from the article
Video: Video: Police describe incident; Broadbent's family reacts
Broadbent pleaded guilty in May to third-degree riot in a gang-related fight among 50 to 100 juveniles at the Embassy Suites in which members of the Ham Crazy and Everybody Killer gangs fought with members of the Shoota Boy Gang.

Although he denied being a gang member, Broadbent allegedly also had been documented in “numerous social media postings” flashing Shoota Boy Gang signs.


But to some people such as Jose Montez, who said he was Broadbent’s brother, he was a teen who needed guidance.

“Why did you have to shoot him?” Montez asked Monday as he visited the place where Broadbent died. “You couldn’t give him a second chance to live?”

Sgt. Paul Paulos, a police spokesman, said it’s unclear how many times Broadbent was hit. Authorities were awaiting autopsy results.

The shooter took off his shirt, rendered first aid to Broadbent and called police, Paulos said.

Broadbent died at the scene, at Summit Avenue and Mississippi River Boulevard.

Meanwhile, police used a helicopter to search for three juvenile males — two from St. Paul and one from an east metro suburb — who were later arrested as conspirators in the robbery.

Ramsey County attorney spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said the robbery cases have been presented for charges. He said the office had not yet received a case on the shooting “We understand that [the shooter] was not arrested and that the police view him to be the victim,” he said.

Asked whether the shooting was justified, Paulos said that the county attorney’s office would make that determination.

Paulos said the shooter went to the park Friday to view the blue moon. He met a second person sitting on the bluff. About 15 minutes later, they were accosted.


Paulos said the shooter and the other adult were cooperating with police. Their names have not been released.

Broadbent’s mother, Leeann Broadbent, said Monday that her son didn’t “have that kind of heart” to pull a gun on someone.
Cough...cough....bullshyte.....cough.......

Broadbent, who was going into his junior year at Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, was active in sports and had started getting “in a little trouble here and there, but nothing like this,” his mother said. “If someone pulled a gun on him, he would have dropped [his]” rather than shoot.

Minnesota legalized carrying a firearm in public in 2003. Advocates on Monday pointed to the victim’s ability to defend himself as an example of why the law was needed.

“He used [the law] effectively,” said Gardy Behrends, a longtime firearms instructor in Duluth.

cxiong@startribune.com • 612-270-4708

pwalsh@startribune.com • 612-673-4482

[deet]

I get a kick out of this statement:

his mother said. “If someone pulled a gun on him, he would have dropped [his]” rather than shoot.

[deet]

and this:

“Why did you have to shoot him?” Montez asked Monday as he visited the place where Broadbent died. “You couldn’t give him a second chance to live?”

[cstemig]

It is a good thing that we have this option of carrying for protection. A few more of these type of events and maybe the "Gang Thugs" will get the message to leave the average person alone. I could care less if they shoot each other.

[shnelson]

Good shoot.

It's too bad that the robbery victim will likely still be sought out for a lawsuit from the gang member's family after being forced into a position where he had to defend his own life.

[Quack]

4th paragraph says he was "caught up" in gang life as though he didn't have a choice. Barf.

[h2ofwlr]

It is a good thing that we have this option of carrying for protection. A few more of these type of events and maybe the "Gang Thugs" will get the message to leave the average person alone. I could care less if they shoot each other.

Agreed, if the punks know every 10th person is carrying - that may indeed give them pause. But I do not agree with the last sentence because if this hash reality - often when they shoot it out innocent by standers are injured/killed too. How many times have we read the headlines of non participants being hit? Way too many...

[Nershi]

After I graduated college I lived in this neighborhood before moving north out of the cities. It is a very nice area and we used to spend a lot of time down at this park. We caused some trouble down there but it was a very different type of trouble. It isn't an area you would expect this to go down.

Those are some juvenile gang names. They should take all these suburban and rural wannabe gangsters and drop them off in the rough areas of Chicago or California and see how long they last.

I feel bad for the guy who had to shoot this little punk. I'm sure that is a difficult thing to deal with even if you are protecting your life and the kid had it coming.

[shnelson]

How many times have we read the headlines of non participants being hit? Way too many...

I have yet to read any of such occurrences. Can you cite me a couple since there are so many?

[HnkrCrash]

Typical clueless parent. The perp was just charged with third-degree riot in support of a gang. Of course, the kid is an angel...or not.

Doesn't mention the dad, wonder where he is?

Moral of the story, there is a really easy way not to get shot while attempting a robbery. Don't attempt a robbery.