A St. Paul teen was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for the shooting death of Billy Ray Robles, a St. Paul rapper.
Trashaun Morris, 18, was 17 at the time of the shooting in Inver Grove Heights on March 24, 2018. He was certified to stand trial as an adult in Dakota County District Court last September and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 21.
Morris and three other teens have been sentenced in the slaying that followed an argument between two teen groups on a party bus in Inver Grove Heights. When the bus pulled over to drop off passengers in the parking lot of AMC Showplace 16, a punch was thrown and shots were fired, leaving Robles dead and wounding a 16-year-old boy, according to criminal charges.
Police determined the shooting was gang-related.
Two 16-year-olds from St. Paul, whose names were not divulged because they were minors, pleaded guilty to one count of riot in the first degree in May 2018. One was sentenced to five years, the other, four years. For their cases, the judge stayed the execution of their sentences and placed the juveniles under extended court jurisdiction until they reach the age of 21.
Taishawn Taquan Smith, 18, of Crystal, pleaded guilty to one count of riot in the second degree in September 2018, and was sentenced to 13 months in prison. The judge gave him credit for 163 days in jail, probation for five years and stayed the execution of the sentence.
Robles, 19, was described by his cousin as an aspiring rapper who grew up on St. Paul’s West Side and had attended Humboldt High School.