Woman sentenced to 15 years in prison for role in New Year's Eve shooting

A judge sentenced a Hastings woman to more than 15 years in prison Monday for her role in a drive-by shooting that seriously injured a 10-year-old boy as he celebrated New Year's Eve with his family at their home in St. Paul.

In April, a jury found Kelci Marie Meyers guilty of all three counts of complicity against her – attempted murder, first-degree assault and drive-by shooting – in connection with the boy's shooting in the 700 block from Sherburne Avenue to St. Paul's. Frogtown neighborhood.

Meyers, 29, testified at trial that she was driving the SUV and Morris Robert Chie Ryan was leaning out of the passenger window when she heard the gunshots, according to a spokesperson for the District Attorney's Office. Ramsey County, Dennis Gerhardstein. Meyers would not say she saw Ryan fire the gun.

Ryan, 27, of New Hope, faces the same three charges. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Ramsey County District Judge Kellie Charles denied a motion by Meyers' attorney to deviate from state sentencing guidelines and gave him a 15-year prison term. years and 3 months, which was the maximum she could have received under state sentencing guidelines. She received credit for 125 days already served in custody.

The boy's mother told police she suspected a former neighbor was behind the shooting, according to the charges. The mother described the man, identified in the charges as LC, as “a neighborhood nuisance” and, although he had moved out, “he continued to return, causing disturbances and threatening residents” of her home . She had a harassment restraining order against LC, even though the order had not been served on her.

Meyers was dating LC's cousin and she also lived with them on Sherburne Avenue.

At the time of the shooting, Ryan and Meyers were a couple, police said.

Boy hospitalized with life-threatening injuries

According to the charges, officers called to the scene of the shooting just before midnight found the boy in an upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the abdomen that punctured his bladder, small intestine and intestine. before exiting through the buttock. He was transported to the regional hospital “with a life-threatening injury and acute blood loss.”

The boy's mother told police she was in the kitchen filming a video to celebrate the New Year with her son and other children. Her son was playing Legos shortly before gunshots came through the kitchen window.

She heard a man in the alley say, “(expletive) y'all, (expletive)” and tried to get her children out of the kitchen, according to the charges. Another child carried the boy to the bedroom upstairs.

On video surveillance of the area, an SUV could be seen circling the alley twice before the shooting and approximately 14 gunshots were heard. It was the only vehicle in the alley at the time.

Investigators found video surveillance from a nearby gas station that showed the SUV entering the parking lot just after the shooting. Police identified Ryan as the person who got out of the front passenger seat and Meyers as the person who got out of the driver's seat, according to the charges. They bought drinks at the gas station and used Meyers' card to pay.

Cell phone data showed Ryan's phone on Sherburne Avenue at the time of the shooting and then at the gas station on Lexington Parkway, according to the charges.

Police found seven handguns at Meyers' home, including a 9mm Glock that testing on a shell casing recovered on Sherburne Avenue later showed fired bullets, according to the charges.

Ryan told police he didn't “really remember what he did on New Year's Eve.” He said he stayed and watched YouTube videos at his mother's house in New Hope. He asked for a lawyer.