A Hibbing man has been indicted on a premeditated first-degree murder charge in a fatal shooting last Christmas.
The indictment against 30-year-old Jerome Dionte Spann was levied by a grand jury last week, according to court records.
Spann already was facing charges of intentional second-degree murder and second-degree assault in the Dec. 25 shooting that killed 34-year-old Jeryel Octavious McBeth and injured 25-year-old Jamien Quartez Stuckey. But he's now facing mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of the premeditated charge.
In Minnesota, first-degree murder charges can only be brought by a grand jury, which meets in private.
According to an earlier criminal complaint, McBeth was standing outside a residence at 2408 Third Ave. E. in Hibbing with several others when Spann and another man exited a nearby sport-utility vehicle shortly after 7:30 p.m.
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Spann carried a handgun as he approached the group and allegedly shot McBeth three times in the chest, shoulder and forearm, the complaint alleges. Spann continued shooting four or five rounds, striking Stuckey and nearly hitting another man. Spann immediately fled the scene, according to the complaint.
A caller told a police dispatcher that one person, later identified as McBeth, had been hit in the chest and was lying on the ground, the complaint states. McBeth was taken by ambulance to Fairview Range Medical Center in Hibbing, where he was pronounced dead. Stuckey's injuries were not life-threatening, and he was treated at Fairview Range Medical Center and released.
Spann was arrested Dec. 28 at a residence in St. Paul, where he has relatives. He has two prior convictions in the Twin Cities for carrying or possessing a pistol without a permit — one in 2013 and another in 2017.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Rachel Sullivan scheduled Spann's first appearance on the new charge for Sept. 12. In the meantime, he remains in the St. Louis County Jail on $500,000 bail.
