“If you move, I’ll blow your head off,” the intruder said as he pressed a gun to the back of a St. Paul resident’s head last week.
The threat came shortly after the 45-year-old resident in the 1200 block of Albemarle Street heard a knock on his door around 8 p.m. Nov. 29, according to legal documents filed in Ramsey County District Court.
When he opened it, he saw a family acquaintance who had previously done yard work for him standing outside. Then he saw another man he didn’t recognize standing behind him with a gun, the resident told police, court documents say.
The resident tried to close the door but one of the men — Martonio Jeremiah Austin — fired a bullet through it and the assailants pushed their way inside, authorities say.
His family acquaintance — Lamar Smith Jr. — then punched the resident in the face and said “you know what this is,” before he and Austin forced the resident and his girlfriend to lie face-down in a bedroom as the men ransacked the home, according to criminal complaints filed against the men.
“Where’s the money? Where’s the money? I just got out of jail, I’m hungry,” one of the men said, according to the complaint.
Both now face kidnapping, burglary and first-degree aggravated robbery charges.
Smith, 18, and Austin, 19, are accused of holding the couple at gunpoint before taking off with cash and watches stolen from inside the residence.
Police were called to the home by a woman who said she was on the phone with the alleged victim when she suddenly heard a loud sound followed by someone shouting “get the (expletive) on the floor,” the complaint said.
Both Smith and Austin were arrested following a foot chase near the scene.
In an interview with police, Smith said the incident “just kinda happened,” and that Austin wielded the gun, the criminal complaint said.
Austin declined to provide a statement to officers.
Neither man’s attorney could be immediately reached for comment.
Their next court appearance will take place later this month.