In a tragic case of mistaken identity, charges have been filed against four individuals accused of coordinating a deadly drive-by shooting in St. Paul that killed a young father and nearly injured two children.
Jasmine Rawls, 23; Malik Rawls, 22; Steven Rawls Jr., 25; and Jarvis Sanders, 23, each face two counts of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and six counts of attempted second-degree murder for the November 22 shooting near the Rondo Community Library.
The chaos unfolded when 26-year-old Andre Lorenzo Mitchell, along with his 2-month-old child, 5-year-old sister, and another man, was ambushed while waiting in a parked Mazda sedan. A black SUV pulled up, and gunfire erupted, riddling the car with 13 bullets. While the children miraculously escaped injury, a bullet hole was found in the baby’s car seat, surrounded by shattered glass. Mitchell tragically lost his life.
The group had reportedly gone to the location to pick up the mother of Mitchell’s child from work. The attack appears to have been linked to a prior dispute involving Jasmine Rawls, who had called police earlier about a disturbance involving armed women outside her apartment.
Court documents reveal that Jasmine Rawls had been feuding with a cousin of her child’s father. An argument over a phone charger escalated into a confrontation involving armed individuals. Surveillance footage and phone records suggest the Rawls siblings and Sanders mobilized in response to this earlier incident, mistakenly targeting Mitchell’s vehicle.
Video evidence shows occupants of a Mitsubishi Outlander, registered to Steven Rawls Jr., firing at the Mazda. Police linked Sanders to the crime through Facebook posts showing him in a distinctive mask and camouflage jacket matching those seen on the shooter.
All four suspects were arrested and remain in custody. Despite Jasmine Rawls’ denial of orchestrating the attack, prosecutors allege she sent threatening messages to her brothers, indirectly fueling the violence. Mitchell, who had no known enemies in the area, was not involved in the prior conflict.
“This senseless act ended in the loss of an innocent life,” the complaint states. “A car full of uninvolved individuals was targeted in an egregious misstep.”
As the community grapples with this devastating loss, questions about escalating conflicts and accountability loom large. The defendants face potentially decades behind bars if convicted, leaving a stark reminder of the costs of split-second decisions fueled by rage.
