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Jon Collins
ST. PAUL, Minn.

Maplewood man shot after car chase is charged with second-degree murder

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A Maplewood man shot by St. Paul police on Friday following a car chase has been charged in a shooting death that occurred just days before.

Brandon Gerard Christopher, 19, was charged today by the Ramsey County attorney's office with two counts of second-degree murder in the death of Evan Trenton Brown, 28, of St. Paul on Nov. 26.

Police found Brown's body in a home on the 800 block of East 4th Street in St. Paul shortly after 3:30 a.m., according to the criminal complaint. They found a 4-inch silver gun part on his body.

The county attorney's office said there were also two bags of pills that police identified as Ecstasy in a nearby electrical box. Police found a loaded gun that hadn't been fired near Brown's body. It wasn't missing any pieces.

Witnesses told police that Brown had thrown a party earlier that night, and that a man named "Brandon" had been flashing a gun, according to the charges. Witnesses told police that "Brandon" had left but returned to pick up a cell phone that another guest had forgotten.

They said he was dropped off three blocks away from the home and later called the vehicle's driver to pick him up in the alley behind the house. One of the vehicle's passengers told police that the suspect smelled like gunpowder when they picked him up, and that he told passengers, "I just smoked that guy."

Police identified Brandon Gerard Christopher as a suspect, according to the charges. Three days after the shooting, St. Paul police tried to stop a Chrysler 300 that fit the description of the car Christopher was driving. A chase ended when Christopher hit a parked car.

Police said he exited the vehicle with a silver gun drawn and allegedly pointed it at police, who shot and wounded him. Police said the silver handgun Christopher was carrying was missing a part, an extractor rod.

After his arrest, Christopher told police that he shot Brown after the victim startled him in the house, according to the charging documents. He said he took some ammunition from the scene, but said he didn't take any money. Witnesses had said Brown had been bragging earlier in the night that he had about $8,000 in cash.

Christopher was also charged Monday with second-degree assault with a firearm and fleeing police in connection with Friday's incident.

Christopher had his first appearance in Ramsey County Law Enforcement Center on Tuesday afternoon.