Liquor store regular fatally shot after attempting to stop man from allegedly stealing $12 bottle of vodka

A Minnesota man is in custody after he allegedly shot a liquor store regular who tried to stop him from stealing alcohol, police said.

On Dec. 27 shortly before 10 p.m., St. Paul police responded to a report of shots fired at Big Discount Liquor, the Pioneer Press reported, citing a criminal complaint.

At the scene, officers found Kenneth L. Davis Jr., 44,shot in the chest. Davis was rushed to an area hospital, where he died several hours later from blood loss.

Before the deadly shooting, the victim confronted Trinis Derrell Edwards, 49, at the liquor store and attempted to stop him from allegedly stealing a $12 bottle of Taaka vodka, WCCO reported.

Edwards allegedly told Davis — a regular who an employee said was protective of the business — that he was armed, and Davis responded by flashing a gun, the complaint states.

Witnesses claimed the dispute between the two men escalated after Edwards allegedly threatened Davis with pepper spray. When Edwards and Davis began to wrestle, surveillance video shows, Davis dropped his gun and Edward allegedly grabbed the weapon and fired two shots at Davis, according to the complaint.

On Jan. 1, a SWAT team tracked Edwards down at a Motel 6 and forcibly took him into custody after he barricaded himself in a bathroom.

Edwards faces two counts of intentional second-degree murder.