From the MN BCA website:
ST. PAUL — Eleven people are facing felony charges following their arrests for attempting to solicit minors for sex or for promoting prostitution.

Investigators with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA)-led Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force and the St. Paul Police Department conducted an operation July 27-28 in St. Paul. During the operation, suspects chatted online with undercover agents and investigators who posed as minors or as sex buyers. Investigators arrested the suspects as they arrived at an arranged meeting place for an encounter.

Suspects were booked into the Ramsey County Jail. A list of arrestees is available here. Charges are expected in the coming days.

• Ten people were booked on probable cause felony solicitation of a minor under 18 years of age for prostitution:

Malvin Chirongoma, 25, of Inver Grove Heights – arrested 27 July 2023
Yonis Abdiweli Hashi, 22, of Eden Prairie – arrested 27 July 2023
Rodrigue Lauture, 42, of Minneapolis – arrested 27 July 2023
Geber Danian Lopez Mejia, 34, of Blaine – arrested 27 July 2023
Jose Jacinto Guaman Quizhpi, 29, of Minneapolis – arrested 27 July 2023
Brandon Emmanuel Rivera Ruiz, 22, of Richfield – arrested 28 July 2023
Abdul Jameer Shaik, 33, of Chanhassen – arrested 27 July 2023
Thomas Charles Stephenson, 23, of St. Michael – arrested 27 July 2023
Robert Jeremy Yang, 41, of St. Paul – arrested 27 July 2023
Toula-Joe Yang, 35, of St. Paul – arrested 27 July 2023

• One person was booked on probable cause felony promotion of prostitution: – Leonard David Caston, Jr., 30, of Mondovi, Wisconsin – arrested 28 July 2023

• Four female victims were recovered from trafficking situations.

“We are committed to helping Minnesota’s trafficking victims escape the reprehensible actions of those who would buy or sell them for sex,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said. “Our predatory crimes agents will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and advocates to end this terrible crime in Minnesota.”

“Good police work doesn’t happen without law enforcement coming together, and because of that partnership these individuals can no longer do harm,” Saint Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said.

Many additional agencies lent resources to this enforcement effort including the East Metro Sex Trafficking Task Force (EMSTTF), Tribes United Against Sex Trafficking (TRUST) and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office. Victim advocate organization Breaking Free also provided services during victim recoveries.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of being trafficked, call 911. To report a suspected trafficking situation, call the BCA at 877-996-6222 or email bca.tips@state.mn.us.

The Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force (MNHTITF) provides statewide law enforcement response for the Human Trafficking National Hotline. Victims can get help by calling the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or send the text HELP to 233733.

The following agencies are members of the Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force: Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments, Homeland Security Investigations and the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.

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You can report a suspected sex-trafficking situation to the BCA at 877-996-6222 or bca.tips@state.mn.us

Just some facts on human trafficking in Minnesota:

– Minnesota had 9 criminal human trafficking cases active in 2018, 2 new cases
– Minnesota convicted 1 defendant in a human trafficking case in 2018

– Federal prosecutors in Minnesota charged 1 new criminal human trafficking case in 2019
– Federal courts in Minnesota handled 6 active criminal human trafficking cases in 2019
– Federal courts in Minnesota convicted 26 defendants in human trafficking cases in 2019
This must be the 1 case: Nearly 60 arrested, 28 victims rescued in huge Final Four weekend sex trafficking bust bring me the news

– Minnesota had 9 criminal human trafficking cases active in 2020
– Minnesota convicted 1 defendant in a human trafficking case in 2020
– 9 defendants were sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

– Minnesota had 2 criminal human trafficking cases new in 2021
– Minnesota convicted 10 defendants in a human trafficking case in 2021
– 9 defendants were sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

If you want to read about sex-trafficking Minnesota 2009-2015 Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center University of Minnesota

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St. Paul police were called to shots fired at 1400 block of Minnehaha Ave. E. A man was found shot outside the apartment building at 1400 block of Minnehaha Ave. East this morning around 5:45 am. A female was also found shot in an apartment. No arrests have been made. [Minneapolis shootings are at the end of this article]

I’ll update more when it’s available!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Early morning shooting leaves two dead in Saint Paul

Saint Paul police are investigating after two people were shot and killed early this morning Tuesday, Apr. 18.

At about 5:43 a.m., officers were called to the 1400 block of Minnehaha Avenue East on a report of person shot. When officers arrived, they located an adult female inside an apartment complex suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead on scene.

Additional officers were securing the scene when they located a second victim behind the building.
The second victim, a male, was also suffering from an apparent gunshot wound and was pronounced dead on scene.

Investigators with the police department’s homicide unit will be interviewing witnesses to understand what occurred and who is responsible for both deaths. The forensic services and video management units are processing the scene for evidence to tell a story of what occurred.
A motive in this case has not been determined and the connection between victims is not clear at this time. No arrests have been made.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct autopsies to positively identify the victims and determine their exact causes of death. That information, along with any updates in the case, will be released on the police department’s Twitter page, @sppdmn.

-M – I – N – N – E – A – P – O – L – I – S –

• A shooting in Minneapolis on the 1800 block of Nicollet Ave. A victim was found on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the face.  The victim was transported to the hospital.  Several suspects ran, one in a colorful jacket.  Video shows the shot came from a vehicle.  Update: 32-year-old Christopher Stephano Bennett died Friday of his wounds.

Decedent: Bennett, Christopher Stephano (AKA Chris Stephano Bennett)
Age: 32 years
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Date of Injury: 4/18/2023
Location of Injury: Outside of 1819 Nicollet Avenue Minneapolis Minnesota 55403
Date of Death: 4/21/2023
Time of Death: 15:13
Location of Death: 701 Park Ave Hennepin Healthcare – In Patient Minneapolis MN 55415
Manner of Death: Homocide
Cause of Death: Gunshot wound of the head
Investigating Agency: Minneapolis Police Department
Case No: 2023-02746

• Another shooting on 1900 Elliot Ave.  Police received a report of  7-8 shots fired in the area, when they arrived they found a victim with a gunshot wound to the lower leg.

Another victim was found at South 5th St. & Park Ave. with a gunshot wound to the upper leg. The suspect is described as a tall black male wearing all black clothing. This is another victim of the Elliot street shooting.

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Minneapolis aka Murderapolis leads the way with 97 murders.  That number is tied with their 1995 murders.
BTW, Minneapolis has its first homicide on Saturday 8 January 2022. Of course it’s not the first shooting. A man lying in the street with a gunshot wound on the 4200 block of 11th Avenue South around 9:40 p.m. on reports of shots fired and a crashed car.

St. Paul had 35 murders, the youngest was a 2 years old.   Ramsey County 2021 murder victims
ICYMI St. Paul had their first homicide Sunday 9 January 2022. A woman in her 40s was stabbed at about 2:30 p.m. at an apartment building in the 100 block of West Larpenteur Ave, and police later arrested a man.

St. Cloud had 5 murders.

According to homesnacks.net their numbers are wrong.  No wonder they’ve been mentioned on abc, nbc, and cbs!

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Wesley Morrison, 78, was murdered in Saint Paul on August 6, 2000. The crime took place near the intersection of Case Avenue and Mendota Street on the city’s East Side. Morrison, also known as the “Can Man,” was beaten and sustained severe head injuries that ultimately led to his death.

Witnesses have said that Morrison, a friendly man who was well known to people in his East Side neighborhood, was followed and threatened by a group of five young men. He crossed over the other side of the street to avoid the men and continued to walk north on Forrest, then he turned west onto Case Avenue.

Please help bring closure to the family and friends of Wesley Morrison, and bring his killer(s) to justice.

Anyone with information about this case is requested to contact:
Saint Paul Police Department at 651-292-3650 or 612-673-2358 or the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Cold Case Homicide Unit at 651-793-7000

Up to $50,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murder of Wesley Morrison.

St. Paul Payne-Phalen / Who killed the ‘Can Man’? And why?
By MARA H. GOTTFRIED | mgottfried@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: March 16, 2007 at 11:01 pm | UPDATED: November 14, 2015 at 2:52 am

Wesley J. Morrison could have turned 85 today. His family imagines he still would be collecting aluminum cans in St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood.

Instead, relatives of the “Can Man” will remember his birthday by poring over photo albums and visiting his grave.

More than six years after Morrison was beaten to death in an apparently random attack, the case remains unsolved. A reward of up to $50,000 is still being offered in the case.

“It holds on to you deep in your heart,” said Fred Morrison Sr., Wesley’s youngest child.

Morrison had six children, 17 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

“I walk down the street and see other people picking up cans and I think, ‘Those used to be my dad’s cans,’ ” Morrison Sr. said.

The random and violent nature of Wesley Morrison’s killing shook Payne-Phalen, where people had nicknamed him the “Can Man” for the years he spent walking the streets with his cart and collecting cans. Morrison had specific routes for each day and walked miles at a time. People used to say they could set their watches by him.

Morrison’s family didn’t realize how well known he had become until his death, said Sue Heiford, Morrison’s daughter.

“Every once in a while, people will still ask me if they’ve caught anyone,” she said. “I tell them ‘no.’ I hope they do, but I know at some point in time they will meet their maker.”

On Aug. 5, 2000, Morrison walked to the Rainbow Foods on Arcade Street, near his Lawson Avenue home, to buy chewing tobacco. Two neighborhood boys reported to police they heard someone say, “Shut the f- up,” and then a loud noise. A few minutes later, about 11:30 p.m., the two boys found Morrison lying unconscious at the corner of Mendota Street and Case Avenue.

Morrison’s wallet was missing, though he likely wasn’t carrying much cash. He had borrowed $5 from a neighbor that night to buy the tobacco and already had made the purchase when he was attacked.

Morrison died of head injuries Aug. 6, 2000, at Regions Hospital.

Police said five men had followed Morrison down the street, yelling and cursing at him. They were the last people believed to have contact with Morrison, and police have not been able to identify who they are.

The case is still active, but police haven’t received any new leads for a while, said Mark Kempe, who investigated the case as a St. Paul homicide investigator and now works as a special agent for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Kempe said he’s reviewing leads police previously received. He’s hoping anyone with information will come forward about people who rented property in the area in 2000 and suddenly moved after the killing.

“It’s very rare that the perpetrators of something like this don’t talk about it,” Kempe said. “Maybe the problem is they got frightened and moved away very early on. It could be they’re talking about it, but they’re in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee or someplace else, so word isn’t getting back to us.”

Kempe stresses that the person or people who assaulted Morrison might not have intended to kill him.

Morrison, a World War II veteran, began collecting cans after he retired from Whirlpool as a vacuum-cleaner inspector in the mid-1980s. As much as it was a way for Morrison to earn extra money, it also was a chance to socialize. He wasn’t deterred by extreme heat or cold, said his family, who sometimes pleaded with him to take a day off.

He also didn’t let crime in the neighborhood end his expeditions. In the years before he was killed, Morrison was assaulted while collecting cans near a bar on Arcade Street – his assailants picked him up and slammed him onto the ground, breaking his hip and collarbone, Heiford said. The men involved in that attack were caught, she said.

Family members worried about Morrison being out after dark, but once he had mended, Morrison went right back to collecting cans.

“That didn’t stop him,” Heiford said. “Those were his streets.”

Mara H. Gottfried covers St. Paul public safety. She can be reached at mgottfried@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5262.

photos courtesy of morrison family

Wesley J. Morrison Slaying Leads

Authorities ask anyone with information on the slaying of Wesley J. Morrison to call St. Paul police at 651-266-5650 or the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at 651-793-7000.

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