17-year-old certified as an adult in fatal shooting of another teen

A 17-year-old was certified as an adult this week in connection with a shooting that killed 16-year-old Kalven Sin Suy.

Maurice Antonio Gaynor Jr. was certified as an adult in Ramsey County Court on Tuesday. Charges of second-degree murder and first-degree aggravated robbery were filed Wednesday.

As previously reported, St. Paul officers responded to a shooting on the 800 block of Western Avenue North at around 1:05 a.m. on Feb. 10. They found Sin Suy with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and gave him first aid until he was brought to the hospital, where his condition was described as “grave,” a criminal complaint states.

Investigators learned on Feb. 18 that Sin Suy had died of his injuries.

According to court documents, Sin Suy’s girlfriend told officers that they were at her home when Sin Suy asked her to drive him to the intersection of Western Avenue North and Burgess Street. After she dropped him off, she got a call from Sin Suy saying, “Come get me, he shot me!”

A few days later, Sin Suy’s girlfriend told officers that the suspect “50” and Sin Suy had been in a juvenile detention center together.

When asked why Sin Suy and “50” had met so late, his girlfriend told police that he sometimes sold marijuana, court documents state. She said that Sin Suy had brought a bag to the meeting and didn’t have it when she found him after he had been shot.

Police got a search warrant for Sin Suy’s phone and found calls to a contact, “50.” There were also texts to set up the meeting.

Authorities later identified the phone number as being registered to Gaynor’s father. Gaynor and Sin Suy had been texting about the sale of a gun and narcotics, according to court documents.

Gaynor’s phone data also showed that he was in the area of the 800 block of Western Avenue North around the time of the shooting.

Gaynor was arrested during the execution of a search warrant on Feb. 16. Court documents state that officers found his cell phone, 38 counterfeit $100 bills, rounds of .22-caliber ammunition and a ghost gun.

During a second search warrant execution at a different home, officers found Gaynor’s school ID, a .22-caliber 715p firearm, a .22-caliber spent casing and a loaded .22-caliber magazine. Court officials said the firearm had been tampered with to remove the serial number.

Gaynor also has multiple prior aggravated robbery convictions.