St. Paul man pleads guilty in connection to Brooklyn Park shooting

Emily Baude KSTP

A St. Paul man has pleaded guilty in connection with a shooting that injured three in Brooklyn Park

Jayquann Leon Kennedy, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting second-degree assault. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors will dismiss a second count of aiding and abetting second-degree assault and one count of attempting to commit first-degree aggravated robbery. He is expected to receive a three-year sentence. A judge still needs to approve that plea.

Kennedy is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 12.

On April 14, Kennedy was charged with one count of first-degree aggravated robbery and two counts of second-degree assault, according to court records.

According to court records, on April 11, officers with the Brooklyn Park Police Department were called to the 3500 block of Brookdale Drive at around 4:30 p.m.

According to a criminal complaint, one of the victims told police that he and a friend (another victim) came to the area to sell a pair of shoes to someone they had been talking to on the phone.

Shortly after they arrived, someone driving a white car parked behind their red car, blocking them into their parking spot. They then saw a man in a black mask step out of the white car and enter their back seat. The man in the mask then took the shoes and two more masked men stepped out of the white car and approached both sides of the red car.

The complaint states that the man in the back seat then pulled out a gun with an extended magazine. The victim then put his hands in the air, expecting to be robbed, when at least one person began shooting into the car. The victim was hit but was able to get away. He then ran to multiple townhomes, banging on a number of doors and begging someone to call 911.

The other victim then drove the red car away from the area and the three men drove away in the white car. Three people were injured in the shooting, officials say.

Police then went to the address of a potential witness, the complaint states. Once there, they saw a dark gray Chevrolet Malibu leaving the area. The Malibu then fled from officers before it struck a construction sign near Humboldt Avenue North and Highway 252.

Deneco Plentyhorse, Corey Stewart, and Ledale Robinson were all charged in connection with the shooting. A jury trial for Stewart is set to begin on January 2, 2024.

Plentyhorse was sentenced in November to serve 42 months (3.5 years) in the St. Cloud prison for one count of first-degree attempted aggravated robbery.

Robinson was sentenced in July to just over two months (64 days) in the county workhouse, which will be served as electronic home monitoring, and probation for two years. If he violates the terms of his probation, he could face up to a year at the workhouse.