Stephan James, South St Paul, Minnesota best man shoots wedding crasher in the legs after getting into altercation with groom before fleeing scene before his eventual arrest days later. Incident happened at Keller Lake Regional Park.
A best man at a Minnesota wedding will be holding on to a lot of long term memories, after being arrested for allegedly shooting an uninvited wedding guest last weekend in Maplewood.
Stephan Andrew James, 33, of South St Paul is alleged to have shot a wedding crasher in both legs after the victim arriving at the wedding reception uninvited to then only get in a shouting match with the groom.
Not to fear. ‘Hold my beer my groom.’
Minnesota best man shoots wedding crasher in front of 100 wedding guests
According to a criminal complaint, police first responded to the shooting just after 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Keller Lake Regional Park where over 100 people had gathered to celebrate a couple getting married.
There officers found the victim bleeding profusely from gunshots to both legs, with bystanders having used belts to fashion tourniquets in an attempt to stanch the bleeding. Medics then rushed the un-named victim to Regions Hospital according to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses told officers the shooter was a man with dreadlocks wearing formal attire. The gunman was seen jumping into a black Dodge SUV, beckoning for a woman and three kids to get in before driving from the parking lot.
Groom alleges not seeing who fired gunshots
Police spoke with the groom, who said the shooting victim had shown up without an invitation, approached him, and acted ‘aggressive’ toward him because the groom did not attend a funeral. The groom said the shooting victim shoved him, and the next thing he heard was a gunshot, while claiming not to have seen who fired the gun.
But there’s more. Yes kids, we sure did miss one hell of a wedding reception…
The wedding photographer told police he saw James get involved in the argument between the groom and the shooting victim. He recalled seeing James shove the shooting victim and hearing two gunshots before the shooting victim fell to the ground and James running away according to a criminal complaint.
During police questioning the unidentified shooting victim said he had arrived at the wedding to pick up his wife and kids at which point he confronted the groom about not attending a funeral or including his kids in the wedding, KSTP reported.
At some point, the victim saw the best man pull out a gun and say, ‘We aren’t playing that s—,’ before shooting him.
Cops were able to arrest James on Wednesday after tracking the man’s Dodge SUV to his girlfriend’s house in South St. Paul. A search warrant of the home uncovered black pants and a black dress shirt in a bedroom similar to the gunman’s attire.
Police arrested James the same day after spotting him getting into a car in St. Paul. James had cut his dreadlocks, and a 9mm handgun was found underneath the passenger seat. Three rounds loaded in the gun matched with a round found at the shooting scene.
While being questioned, James was evasive, claiming not remembering where the wedding took place and not wanting to talk anymore and invoking his right to an attorney.
‘I know I’m not a bad person,’ James told officers. ‘I have never been in stuff like this. I hope you guys understand. If you talked with other people, you should understand I’m not a bad person or aggressor.’
James faces charges of first- and second-degree assault. He appeared for a hearing Friday morning, and a judge set his bail at $250,000. As of Friday afternoon, James remains in custody at the Ramsey County Jail.
If convicted, James faces up to 27 years in prison.
