Shooter sentenced to nearly 11 years for West St. Paul park slaying in 2021

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
Updated ·4 min read

Brenden Jamel Reynolds went to a West St. Paul park in June 2021 looking for revenge for a killing in St. Paul nearly three years earlier, a prosecutor said Thursday in a Dakota County courtroom.

Reynolds walked directly up to Jayvon Andrew Malone at Thompson Park and said, “You got my brother killed,” a witness told police last year. Reynolds punched Malone in the face, sending him backward and to the ground.

The witness saw Reynolds “up his gun” and then shots were fired. Malone, 20, of Maplewood, was struck in the abdomen, and died at a hospital the same day.

“(Reynolds) was there because he was so upset about what happened to G-Will,” Assistant County Attorney Natalie Staeheli said, referring to the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Wilbert Harris-McCalister, aka “G-Will,” in St. Paul’s Summit-University neighborhood on Sept. 7, 2018. “And Jayvon was going to pay for what happened to him.”

Judge Stacey Sorenson Green went on to grant the prosecution’s motion for an upward departure from sentencing guidelines, giving Reynolds 10 years and nine months in prison after convicting him of first-degree manslaughter in Malone’s killing. Reynolds, 25, of Cottage Grove, will receive credit for 415 days already served and was ordered to pay $7,580 in restitution.

Reynolds was arrested and charged with second-degree murder-not premeditated nearly two years after Malone’s murder. West St. Paul police said at the time they got a break in the case after a witness was identified and “provided a statement confirming the facts we had gathered during the ongoing investigation.”

In February, Reynolds pleaded guilty to the amended manslaughter charge after reaching a deal with the prosecution a day before a jury trial was to begin. As part of the plea deal, he faced a sentence between 8½ years and just over 15 years.

In departing from the guidelines, Sorenson Green cited two factors: The crime was committed at a park during operating hours, and in the presence of children.

“This is another example of a senseless death resulting from gun violence,” County Attorney Kathy Keena said in a Thursday statement. “No one should have to fear for their life at a park. I hope today’s decision will bring some measure of justice to Jayvon’s family, friends and loved ones.”

‘There was chaos’

According to the complaint, officers were called to Thompson Park, which borders U.S. 52, just before 9 p.m. June 9, 2021, on a report of someone shot. Malone was found lying in grass, and told officers he was going to die. Officers asked who shot him, but he did not answer.

Police learned people had gathered at the park to raise money to pay for legal fees for someone who was jailed.

After Reynolds pulled up on a motorcycle and confronted Malone, “within minutes there was chaos,” Staeheli told the court Thursday. Surveillance video showed Malone holding his side and running to get away from Reynolds and bullets that were fired in his direction and ricocheting off the ground.

Malone fell to the ground, and fired a gun toward the pavilion, the complaint says. He got up, turned around and hopped away. He made his way across the parking lot and onto grass behind parked vehicles.

Police learned that Malone, at age 17, was involved in an armed robbery and gunfight with several others that killed Wilbert Harris-McCalister, aka “G-Will.”

“Malone was prosecuted and went to prison; however, it appeared that G-Will’s family believed Malone was responsible for his death,” the complaint against Reynolds says. “This is what it appeared the defendant was referring to when he said to Malone, ‘You got my brother killed.’ ”

According to court documents, Malone was charged by juvenile petition with attempted second-degree murder, second-degree assault, first-degree aggravated robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm for his role in the incident. He agreed to be certified to adult court and in November 2018 was convicted of aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery and sentenced to nearly 3½ years in prison.

‘It won’t give me closure’

Malone’s mother Nicole Malone spoke on behalf of her son’s family Thursday, telling the court that he was an up-and-coming rap musician who began taking his craft seriously at age 12. He had gained a loyal following and interest from record labels. “I was his biggest fan,” she said.

Reynolds and others planned the “taking of Jayvon’s life,” she said. “And all of them should be charged. And Brenden, you ‘took the L’ for them.”

She asked the judge to give the maximum sentence allowed “so Jayvon’s death won’t be in vain.”

Afterward, outside the courtroom, she and Jayvon’s father, Peter Malone, hugged family members. They thanked West St. Paul investigators for solving the case.

“We wanted the 172 months, the maximum, but we’re glad we got him arrested and he’s in jail doing his time,” Jayvon’s mother said. “It won’t give me closure totally, but he’s in there. There’s a lot of mothers that don’t get that.”

Related Articles