Inset: Alvin James Smith (Ramsey County Sheriff's Office). Background: The home in St. Paul, Minn., where Demarcus Gibson-Beard was shot (Google Maps).
A Minnesota man is behind bars after police said he shot his sister's boyfriend over an argument about moving a television.
Alvin James Smith, 20, is being held at the Ramsey County Jail on $1 million bail after being charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Demarcus Gibson-Beard, 27. According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, police were called to a home in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Saturday morning after receiving a call about someone being shot in the head. Gibson-Beard was found lying on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The alleged shooter, Smith, was identified by Gibson-Beard's mother, his sister, and his fiancee.
Officers from the St. Paul Police Department wrote in the complaint that Gibson-Beard and his fiancee came over to the house that morning to deliver a television. Gibson-Beard reportedly asked Smith for help moving the TV from his car to the home. Smith apparently found the request "disrespectful" and the two men began to argue.
According to the complaint, Gibson-Beard and Smith fought over how Smith and his girlfriend, Gibson-Beard's sister, were living at Gibson-Beard's mother's house "for free" and not paying any bills. Gibson-Beard's mother told police that there had been ongoing "tension" in the family because her daughter and Smith refused to move out of the house after being asked "repeatedly."
The verbal altercation between the two men allegedly became physical and moved from outside the home to inside, where Gibson-Beard "rushed" at Smith.
As the family members at the scene tried to separate the two men, Gibson-Beard's fiancee told police that she heard a "pop" and saw smoke near Gibson-Beard's head as he fell to the floor. Smith's girlfriend told police that she also heard a single gunshot, after which Smith allegedly said, "I'm going to jail" before fleeing the scene.
While on the run, Smith spoke to his girlfriend on the phone and told her that he did not want to go to jail and that he had an "illegal handgun." Along with officers, Smith's girlfriend convinced him to return to the scene, which he did. During his arrest, Smith reportedly claimed that Gibson-Beard slapped his own sister and that he used the gun to defend himself. Gibson-Beard's mother told police that her son did not slap his sister.
According to the complaint, Smith told police that Gibson-Beard called him a derogatory name and acted in a "threatening" manner, so he went with his girlfriend to the bedroom they shared and concealed the gun. Smith then claimed that Gibson-Beard slapped both him and his girlfriend, so he "drew the handgun" and "put one in the head," adding, "I know where I f—ing aimed." After running from the house, he went to a wooded area, hid under a vehicle, and called two people to tell them "he had just killed someone."
Smith is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
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