A Ramsey County grand jury has indicted three men in connection with the 2012 murder of a St. Paul man who was shot at his home, authorities announced Wednesday.
Indicted in the March 2012 death of Leonard Christian Sr. were Juan E. Martinez and Desean Thomas. Each face four counts of first-degree murder and six counts of second-degree murder.
Christian, 56, was found dead in the rear entrance of his house in the 1000 block of W. Central Avenue near Victoria Street the night of March 30, 2012. St. Paul police said at a news conference Wednesday that Christian's son may possibly have been the intended target.
Martinez and Thomas also were indicted on one count of attempted second-degree murder, three counts of drive-by discharge of firearm, and four counts of second-degree assault each in connection with a drive-by shooting two days before Christian was killed. A third man, Ramone D. Smaller, was indicted on two counts of aiding an offender-accomplice after the fact.
Smaller, who authorities have said is a violent gang member, is serving time for attempted murder and was charged in June in several violent drive-by shootings. St. Paul police officer Ruby Diaz was charged the same month after allegedly assuming another woman's identity and wiring money to Smaller in prison. The pair were allegedly romantically involved.
St. Paul police announced the indictments alongside representatives of the NAACP, the African-American Leadership Council and the St. Paul Black Ministerial Alliance.
The Christian case was complicated because witnesses or people with knowledge of what happened were afraid to step forward and talk with investigators, said St. Paul Police Chief Tom Smith.
"As we know, the community solves crime," said Jeff Martin, president of the St. Paul NAACP, talking about the importance of witnesses working with authorities.
Nicole Norfleet
