A St. Paul man admitted in court to helping his acquaintance evade arrest after the man shot and severely injured a young father over a dispute about marijuana and counterfeit money.
Daiezon Ravelle Broadbent, 25, pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court last week to one felony count of aiding an offender for his role in the Feb. 6, 2016, incident.
He and Tristian Lavonn Ballard met up with D’Onjay Jackson in an alley near East Seventh Street and Minnehaha Avenue that day to buy marijuana, court records say.
After Broadbent and Ballard decided against buying the drugs, Jackson asked Ballard for change for two $100 bills. As they were exchanging money, Ballard realized Jackson’s bills were counterfeit. He pulled out a gun and shot Jackson. Broadbent then drove himself and Ballard away from the scene in his vehicle.
The shooting left 20-year-old Jackson unable to walk or use his arms. The father also can’t talk or feed himself and lives in a nursing home so he can get round-the-clock care. He has a hole in his neck from where doctors had to insert a breathing tube.
Ballard pleaded guilty in February to one count of first-degree assault for the shooting and was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison.
Broadbent will be sentenced in August.