23-year-old charged in Brooklyn Park homicide

A man has been charged in connection with a homicide that occurred in Brooklyn Park last week.

Sebestyen James Lamar Warren, 23, faces two counts of second-degree murder. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.

Brooklyn Park police responded to a shooting inside an apartment on the 6900 block of 76th Avenue North overnight on Tuesday. According to a criminal complaint, officers found people coming out of the building into the parking lot, and 20-30 people were in the building’s common area.

RELATED: Man dead after shooting at Brooklyn Park apartment complex

Police found a man who had been shot in the chest in a stairwell. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital and has not yet been publicly identified.

Witnesses told police that the shooting happened in an apartment on the third floor that the victim was leasing. Investigators found a discharged cartridge casing on the floor and a trail of blood leading to where the victim was found.

According to court documents, there had been a party in the apartment before the shooting, and at least two of the men in attendance had brought guns, including the victim.

A witness said that Warren and the victim went into the bathroom together and when the victim came out, he heard a gunshot and saw the victim fall to the ground. Warren ran from the apartment and told people to “call 911 to save [the victim],” witnesses told police.

Another witness told investigators that Warren and some of the men he attended the party with were known to steal people’s guns. He added that the men’s motive was to steal the victim’s gun and that Warren shot the victim when he tried to stop him.

Warren, another man, and a teenager were arrested in St. Paul. According to court documents, Warren had a backpack with three handguns, one of which was believed to belong to the victim. Investigators also found items associated with the victim’s gun.

RELATED: Teen boy, 2 men arrested in connection with early morning homicide

After his arrest, Warren said he didn’t remember having the backpack when he was arrested and didn’t remember who he was with around the time of the shooting.

Warren claimed he was in the hallway when he heard a gunshot, adding that despite not being near the shooting, he told people to call 911.
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