Man gets 30-year sentence for role in 2022 St. Paul murder

Arteze Kinerd to be sentenced Monday

Kinerd was charged for the death of Alex Becker in December of 2022 in St. Paul.

One of the men convicted of having a role in the murder of a 22-year-old St. Paul man in Dec. 2022 has been sentenced to serve time in prison.

Arteze Kinerd, 21, pleaded guilty in February to second-degree murder in the shooting that left Alex Becker dead just feet from his home on Lawson Avenue West. Becker’s death was the 40th homicide in the city that year.

Kinerd was handed a 363-month sentence (30.25 years), about 20 years of which will be served behind bars, while the rest will be supervised release. He was given 518 days of credit for time already served.

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A family photo of Alex Becker. (KSTP)

Becker’s family filled the courtroom on Monday, as the judge read a poem about kindness.

Although the defense highlighted that Kinerd acknowledged his role in Becker’s death during Monday’s sentencing, Kinerd himself didn’t speak in court.

However, Becker’s mother, as well as several other loved ones, asked for justice. Alex’s mother, Tara, said he was a loyal, kind and hard-working person.

“His murder cannot be justified,” said Tara Becker.

As previously reported, surveillance from the shooting showed three men running down an alley that Becker had just gone into on the 500 block of Lawson Avenue West, and then gunshots being fired around 11:53 p.m. The suspects then left the scene in a stolen Toyota Camry, according to the criminal complaint.

The Camry was then found at Kinerd’s apartment.

Kinerd and two men were seen leaving the apartment building on the night of the murder wearing the same clothes as the suspects in surveillance video, court documents state.

Officers said they found Kinerd on Jan. 3 at a gas station. The complaint states that his “eyes grew big, and he ducked down in the store when he saw officers.” Police then recovered a handgun near where Kinerd had ducked down and placed him under arrest. Testing results from the gun matched the casings found near Becker’s body.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner said Becker had been shot six times.

Detwan Cortell Allen, a second man charged with Becker’s murder, was sentenced in April to spend 30 years in prison. Meanwhile, a third defendant — Shaun Lamar Travis — was acquitted back in December.

Kinerd was also sentenced for a kidnapping charge stemming from an incident in which a man was robbed, held against his will and threatened at gunpoint.

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