Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in fatal St. Paul shooting

A man has agreed to plea guilty in a case stemming from a fatal shooting in St. Paul over the summer.

Court records show that 22-year-old Damound Jahema Franks pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree manslaughter for the shooting that killed 21-year-old Jonathan Wade on Aug. 2, 2023. As part of a plea deal, gun possession and stolen property charges against him are expected to be dismissed.

Franks is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 16 and was ordered to be temporarily held in jail until that time.

RELATED: Charges: Men were playing with guns before fatal St. Paul shooting

St. Paul police found Wade dead from a gunshot wound to his head at a home on Manitoba Avenue West near North Parks Street on the night of Aug. 2. Charging documents noted that several people were inside the home at the time, including a child, when Wade and Franks were playing with guns. A witness said both suddenly went off, and both were hit in the head, although Franks’ injury wasn’t life-threatening.

Franks’ girlfriend was seen on surveillance video dropping a pink backpack in some bushes a couple of blocks away. Inside, police found both guns, according to a criminal complaint. She’s facing charges of aiding an offender.