Dawahn Darnell Littles was trying to break up a fight in front of his home on Dale Street early Saturday morning when several gunshots popped off. His older brother then heard him yell, “I’m hit,” authorities say.
That’s when Denise Chanel White ran, holding a small handgun she’d just fired into the crowd that had gathered in front of Littles’ St. Paul home, according to an account by Littles’ brother in legal documents.
The brother waited alongside Littles until police arrived.
About an hour later, at 6:04 a.m., 38-year-old Littles was pronounced dead in the emergency room at St. Paul’s Regions Hospital.
SUSPECT SHOWS UP ON DOORSTEP
White, 27, of St. Paul, was charged Wednesday with two counts of second-degree murder in Littles’ death, according to a criminal complaint filed against her in Ramsey County District Court.
White reportedly showed up at a home on the 400 block of Minnehaha Avenue shortly after the shooting and was heard knocking and crying on the doorstep by a man inside, the complaint said. Recognizing White as an acquaintance of his sister, he let her into the house.
Still holding her gun, White sat down on a couch and cried as she repeated the words “I shot him,” the man told officers, according to legal documents.
Littles’ brother later picked White out of a lineup as the woman he’d seen shoot his brother, the complaint said.
AFTER-HOURS PARTY FIGHT BREAKS OUT
The incident occurred about 5 a.m. Saturday after Littles had a group of people back to his place in the 600 block of Dale Street after bar closing, legal documents say.
At some point, the party spilled onto the streets outside and an altercation broke out between several people, the complaint said.
As Littles attempted to break up the fight, White reportedly got into an argument with several women trying to leave the scene in a car, authorities say.
She broke one of the car’s windows before taking out a small handgun and firing shots into the crowd, striking Littles, the complaint said.
SUSPECT TO MAKE COURT APPEARANCE
White’s criminal history includes several convictions for theft-related crimes as well as two for fifth-degree assault.
White made her first appearance on the charges Wednesday. Her next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22.
No attorney for her was listed in court records.
St. Paul police continue to investigate the case, said Steve Linders, a police spokesman.