Man Charged In Dec. Shooting At West St. Paul Gas Station

WEST SAINT PAUL, MN — A Minneapolis man has been charged in Dakota County District Court with second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault in connection with a shooting that took place at a gas station in West Saint Paul in December.

Joshua Dartavian-Da Moore Gooden, 21, could face up to 20 years in prison for the attempted murder charge and up to seven years and/or pay a fine of up to $14,000 for the assault charge, according to the criminal complaint. He is currently in custody at Dakota County Jail.

Just before 9 p.m. on Dec. 5, police were dispatched to the Marathon Gas Station off of Mendota Road East in West Saint Paul, officials said. When officers arrived, they saw that two people had been shot, police said.

A woman told police she had been shot in the foot and a man said he was shot in the abdomen and arm, according to the complaint. Both victims were brought to the hospital, police said.

The woman told police that at the gas station, her and the man who had also been shot saw a car at the gas pump and a man who was later identified as Moore Gooden, officials said. The woman said that the man knew Moore Gooden, as they had a previous argument at the apartments across the street in which Moore Gooden threatened to shoot him, police said.

While at the gas station, the woman said that Moore Gooden and the man got into another argument, and Moore Gooden came around the car with a gun and began shooting, according to the criminal complaint.

The next day, the woman told police that Moore Gooden called her sister to brag about the shooting and also bragged about the shooting on Facebook, officials said.

The woman told police that neither she nor the male victim had a gun at the time of the shooting, but a witness who was in Moore Gooden's car said the male victim had a gun and Moore Gooden shot at him first to protect her, according to the complaint.

A second witness said she was the driver of "suspect vehicle" and that she had gone into the gas station and returned to Moore Gooden and the male victim arguing, officials said. She told officers that she tried to break them up and then Moore Gooden pulled out a gun and shot the two victims, police said. The witness said Moore Gooden was the only one who shot a gun during the altercation, according to the complaint.

The first witness said the group drove to St. Cloud and stayed there a week before coming back to West Saint Paul, the complaint said.