Juvenile suspect in St. Paul ghost gun

By WCCO Staff

Updated on: August 1, 2023 / 1:14 PM / CBS Minnesota

NORTH ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A judge has certified 17-year-old Abo Eshun Essilfie as an adult, elevating his second-degree murder charge for his role in a ghost gun-related murder in North St. Paul in June.

Around 6 p.m. on June 19, police officers responded to a call at an apartment building on McKnight Road in North St. Paul. According to a criminal complaint, witnesses say they saw three people leaving the area carrying bags, then dropping them a short distance away.

When authorities recovered the bags, they found more than a dozen 3D‐printed handguns and three long guns. Inside the apartment, investigators found 24-year-old Anthony Rojas dead.

They also found two open and empty gun safes, a 3D printer, a money counter, boxes of ammunition, and rifle magazines.

According to a search warrant, Rojas was using the 3D printer to create parts for handguns and was using his apartment to facilitate the manufacturing and distribution of firearms, similar to ghost guns recovered by Brooklyn Center police earlier this year.

RELATED: Ghost gun use in U.S. crimes has risen more than 1,000% since 2017, federal report says

Essilfie waived certification and agreed to transfer his case to adult court for sentencing. He entered a guilty plea as charged in the adult court document.

A sentencing date has been set for September 25 at the Ramsey County Courthouse in Saint Paul.

Octavion Jones, La Vida Martinez, Steven Terry, and a 16-year-old have also been charged with second-degree murder.

NOTE: The video attached to this article originally aired on June 27, 2023.

The WCCO Staff is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on WCCO.com.

First published on August 1, 2023 / 12:03 PM

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