Man sentenced to 55 years in South St. Paul shooting that killed 1, injured another

A Newport, Minnesota, man was sentenced Wednesday to more than five decades in prison for an August 2020 shooting that left one man dead and another injured.

The Dakota County Attorney’s Office said 37-year-old Jerome Deshawn Misters was sentenced to 55 years (665 months) in connection to the Aug. 17, 2020, shooting that killed Matthew Perkins. Misters was convicted of second-degree murder with intent and attempted second-degree murder back in June.

According to a criminal complaint, around 4 a.m. on Aug. 17, 2020, police responded to a report of a shooting on the 600 block of 17th Avenue North and found two men who had been shot. Perkins later died. A witness told investigators that Misters had gotten into an argument with Perkins over the phone, and when Perkins and the other victim arrived at the house, Misters ran outside.

A woman inside then heard three gunshots and told police, "She looked down the street and observed Misters standing over Perkins and shooting him in what the officer interpreted as execution-style," the complaint states.