The fate of Detwan Cortell Allen, the 19-year-old accused in the murder of Alex Becker, now rests in the hands of a Ramsey County jury. Becker, 22, was gunned down close to midnight on December 27, 2022, just steps from his home after returning from a work shift. As reported by FOX 9, Allen faces charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder in a case that alleges he drove the getaway vehicle during the deadly encounter.
Allen is the second of three men to stand trial in connection with the crime after Shaun Travis was acquitted earlier by a bench trial. Prosecutors claim the three suspects were collectively responsible, needing not to prove directly who fired the lethal shots but that Allen collaborated actively in the conspiracy. However, Allen's defense attorney, Jeremy Plesha, has contested the prosecution's evidence and suggests that it doesn't establish Allen's participation in the killing. "The state has called what happened to Becker a 'heinous and intentional murder'," as per FOX 9 report.
Contradictory accounts of Allen's whereabouts during the shooting could make or break the case. The defense argues that the timing of gunshots captured on neighborhood surveillance doesn't coincide with Allen's presence in the alley. Yet the prosecution presents surveillance video supposedly showing Allen returning to a Toyota Camry they allege was involved in the crime, Twin Cities reports.
In the courtroom, Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Saraswati Singh described the incident as an ambush and execution. "They 'assembled' in the area of Lawson Avenue and Kent Street, 'getting ready to ambush Becker'," Singh said, according to an interview conducted by Twin Cities. The prosecution also pointed out DNA evidence found on the Camry implicating Allen. In response, Plesha raised doubts about the prosecution's ability to conclusively prove Allen's intent. "I just don't believe the evidence gets there," Plesha told the jury.
As the jury deliberates, the community and Becker's family await answers in a case that has already seen one defendant acquitted and another, Arteze Owen Kinerd, scheduled for trial in February. Whatever the outcome, the tragedy that unfolded in the North End of St. Paul continues to resonate, with the judicial process now tasked with untying the evening's events and assigning accountability.
