A Ramsey County jury on Tuesday convicted one of three suspects of murder in the deadly robbery of a St. Paul man behind his home as he walked home from work nearly one year ago.
Jurors found 21-year-old Detwan Allen guilty of second-degree intentional murder in the death of Alex Becker, 22. The jury acquitted Allen of second-degree unintentional murder.
Judge Paul Yang will sentence Allen on April 26. Prosecutors intend to argue that there were aggravating factors that merit a sentence longer than recommended by state guidelines.
Becker was robbed and killed while walking home from work on Dec. 27, 2022. He had just turned down the alley leading toward his home in the 500 block of W. Lawson Avenue when security camera footage shows Allen and two others following him. Moments later another security camera captured the sound of gunshots, recording a black sedan with a broken headlight leaving the scene. When police arrived, they found Becker facedown in the snow near his garage with bullet wounds and no pulse. A St. Paul fire medic declared Becker dead at the scene, and the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that he died from six gunshot wounds.
Allen’s jury trial began as the trial for Shaun Travis, another suspect in Becker’s slaying, ended with a judge’s not-guilty verdict. Throughout Allen’s case, prosecutors alleged that he was close friends with Travis and Arteze Kinerd — a third suspect who was arrested with the handgun authorities believe was used to kill Becker. Kinerd’s jury trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 26. He is also charged with second-degree intentional murder.
Becker’s mother, Tara Becker, said the Allen verdict is a relief, but not the end.
“We still have one trial left and a lot of grief in our future. We all miss Alex a lot and we can’t undo what happened to him,” Tara Becker said. “But this verdict will ensure no one else can be hurt by Allen’s actions.”
Evidence presented through Allen’s trial showed conversations between Allen and Kinerd, as well as a photo of Allen with Travis in the background, and DNA testing by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension suggested that Allen was in the alley with Kinerd and Travis at the time of Becker’s death.
Defense attorney Jeremy Plesha countered that much of the prosecutors’ evidence was circumstantial. Plesha plans to send a counterargument to the state’s request for a longer sentence.