Man sentenced to over 10 years for fatal 2021 shooting

A 25-year-old was sentenced to over 10 years (129 months) in connection with a fatal shooting in West St. Paul in 2021.

Brenden Jamel Reynolds has credit for 415 days already served, according to court documents. He must also pay $7,580 in restitution.

According to a news release from the Dakota County Attorney’s Office, this is an upward durational departure than what the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines call for.

Reynolds was initially charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to an amended charge of first-degree manslaughter.

As previously reported, West St. Paul police were called to Thompson County Park on the evening of June 9, 2021, on a report of a shooting. There, they found Jayvon Andrew Malone suffering from two gunshot wounds.

Malone later died at the hospital.

Surveillance video showed Reynolds pull up to a party on a motorcycle and walk over to Malone. A criminal complaint states that he told Malone, “You got my brother killed,” before punching him in the face and sending him to the ground. Shots were then fired.

As Malone runs away, the video shows him falling and firing shots back at Reynolds.

Court documents state that Malone and others were involved in a crime in 2018 and someone known as “G-Will” died. Investigators noted that G-Will’s family apparently blamed Malone for his death, and that seemed to be what Reynolds was referring to in his comment to Malone before the shooting.