A 25-year-old St. Paul man is in custody after allegedly firing a shot at a Ramsey County sheriff's deputy near the Roseville-Maplewood border Tuesday night, a bullet strike that touched off a sprawling, multi-agency pursuit stretching from the northern suburbs into Minneapolis. No one was hurt in the shooting itself, but the incident has renewed concerns about violence against Twin Cities officers just days after a separate shooting targeted police in Eagan.
The deputy and K-9 partner BeBe were headed to back up another deputy on an unrelated fight call around 8 p.m. Tuesday when they spotted what looked like a road-rage encounter near Rice Street and Roselawn Avenue, according to OFFICER Magazine. According to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, the driver, later identified as D'Monte Shavezz Leanna, made a U-turn behind the deputy's squad car and then allegedly shot at the deputy from a gold Buick LeSabre. The bullet ricocheted off the squad car's hood and struck the windshield, per the station's report, though the deputy was not injured.
Suspect Ditches Buick, Then a Gun, During Chase
Leanna fled south on Rice Street and east on Wheelock Parkway into St. Paul, abandoning the Buick at the McDonough Townhomes complex near Timberlake Road, OFFICER Magazine reports. A witness at the townhomes told the deputy that the suspect had jumped into a second getaway vehicle, and that tip allowed a Roseville police officer to broadcast the make, model, color, and license plate of the new car over police radio, according to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.
During the chase, Leanna allegedly threw a handgun from the vehicle, per 5 Eyewitness News. Deputy Ashleigh Sparks and K-9 BeBe later recovered that weapon — which had been reported stolen — in the 1900 block of Rice Street near McCarrons Center, the same report notes.
Highway Pursuit Ends in Minneapolis
A Minnesota State Patrol trooper spotted the getaway vehicle traveling westbound on Interstate 694 near Rice Street, prompting a large, multi-agency pursuit with a State Patrol helicopter flying overhead, according to KROC News. The vehicle eventually exited the interstate and stopped for emergency lights once it reached Minneapolis, where both the driver and Leanna, who was riding as a passenger, were taken into custody, per 5 Eyewitness News.
Leanna is now being held at the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center pending formal charges, the station reports. The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office has since executed search warrants on Leanna's home and on both vehicles involved in Tuesday's incident, according to the same report. It remains unclear what specific charges the Ramsey County Attorney's Office intends to file, and the identity and charging status of the second vehicle's driver has not been made public.
Second Twin Cities Officer Targeted in a Week
Tuesday's shooting marked the second time in less than a week that Twin Cities law enforcement had come under gunfire, following an August 15 incident in Eagan in which an officer was shot at during a domestic disturbance call, KROC News notes. Dakota County prosecutors charged 37-year-old Adrian Ricardo Flowers on Tuesday with seven felonies in that case, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and two counts of first-degree assault, according to Limitless Media News.
Under Minnesota law, using or attempting to use deadly force against an active peace officer is classified as first-degree assault, carrying a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of up to 20 years and a $30,000 fine, according to Wilson & Clas. Separately, Minnesota Statute 609.487 makes intentionally fleeing a peace officer in a vehicle a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine, a law Hoodline outlined in a recent high-speed chase near St. Kate's.
Public county arrest records show Leanna was previously booked into custody in Hennepin County in October 2023, according to Minnesota Arrests. Where the handgun recovered near McCarrons Center was originally reported stolen from has not yet been disclosed.
