West St. Paul man sentenced in 2020 murder

A man was sentenced Friday for a 2020 murder that was committed in West St. Paul.

The Dakota County Attorney’s Office says 22-year-old Steven Daniel Buford was sentenced to just over 31 years (380 months) for the murder of 22-year-old Lauren Summer Koffi-n’guessan. He previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted first-degree aggravated robbery, and he will serve a 54-month sentence concurrently for the robbery charge.

Authorities were called to a West St. Paul apartment building at about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 4, 2020. There, police were told a man was acting erratically and had jumped from a second-story balcony. He was also seen arguing with a woman but witnesses weren’t sure where the man and woman had gone.

As officers searched around the outside of the building, they heard a gunshot and found Koffi-n’guessan lying on the ground with an apparent gunshot wound to her head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers then spotted Buford running through the parking lot, the criminal complaint states. When they heard a woman scream, they saw the woman standing next to her car with Buford getting in the car. Officers were able to arrest Buford and found a snub nose revolver in the car, the complaint states.