Man sentenced to over 27 years for injuring St. Paul boy in New Year’s Eve shooting

By KSTP

Ryan Morris

A man has been sentenced to over 27 years after being found guilty on six charges in connection to a shooting that seriously injured a 10-year-old boy in St. Paul.

Morris Robert Chie Ryan was sentenced to 327 months in prison, roughly 27 years and three months. Ryan will receive 251 days of credit for time served.

Ryan, as well as Kelci Marie Meyers, were each charged for having roles in the shooting, which happened at a home located along Sherburne Avenue near North Avon Street at 11:56 p.m. on Dec. 31. There, officers said they found a boy who had been shot in the stomach, and he was taken to the hospital, where he was in critical condition. Although the shots were fired from outside the home, police believed they were targeted.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Meyers was sentenced to serve more than 15 years in prison. However, she’ll be eligible for parole after roughly 10 years.

According to the charging documents, the gunshot punctured the boy’s bladder, small intestine, rectum and bowel, leaving him with possibly life-threatening injuries. However, he did survive.

Criminal complaints state that the boy’s mother was in the kitchen, making a video to celebrate the new year, while her son was playing with Legos when the shots were fired through a kitchen window. The woman added that she heard a man in the alley say, “F*** y’all, m*****f******.”

Officers found seven spent 9 mm casings in the alley behind the home and 10 bullet holes in the window of the home. In reviewing surveillance video, they saw a dark-colored SUV circle the alley twice before the shooting, then pause for about 13 seconds before driving off at the time of the shooting. Fourteen gunshots were also audible on the video.

Investigators were able to determine that the SUV was registered to Ryan and saw that it had stopped at a nearby Speedway right after the shooting.

Officers later got a search warrant for the SUV and Meyers’ address and found clothing that matched what they were seen wearing right at the Speedway right after the shooting. Additionally, seven total guns were found in the home, two of which were 9 mm.

As for motive, the boy’s mother said she thought it was an old neighbor who she described as a “nuisance,” adding that he moved out but continued to return to cause trouble and threaten them.