Murder charges brought against suspected shooter of 17-year-old in South St. Paul

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

A 17-year-old St. Paul boy has been charged in the fatal shooting of Anthony Skelly, also 17, outside his South St. Paul home Sunday night.

Casimir Anthony Semlak was charged in Dakota County on Wednesday by juvenile petition with three counts of second-degree murder — with intent/not premeditated — as well as one count of drive-by shooting — without intent /while committing a felony.

A motion to certify Semlak as an adult was made at his initial appearance in juvenile court. Semlak will remain in custody at the Juvenile Service Center in Hastings until his next court appearance on May 17.

At around 10:42 p.m., South St. Paul police officers were dispatched to a residential area after a report of gunshots. Officers found Skelley lying in the street unresponsive and with gunshot wounds to his head, torso and shoulder. He was not breathing, and had no pulse.

Officers found a BB gun in Skelley’s hand, according to the petition, and shell casings from a 9mm firearm near him. A cell phone and small bag of marijuana were located in the street near Skelley.

Officers attempted CPR, but responding medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Neighbors reported hearing gunshots and seeing a small white or silver 4-door car with a damaged right taillight leaving the area at a high rate of speed. Several Ring videos showed portions of the incident and the car in front of Skelley’s home.

A male who had been inside Skelley’s home at the time of the shooting told officers that he heard Skelley on a phone saying something to the effect of “ok, I’m coming out.” He then walked outside and shortly after shots rang out.

A search was conducted of Skelley’s cell phone. It shows that last number called was linked to Semlak and also a string of texts between him and Semlak about the sale of marijuana.

In a text, the Skelley gave his home address to Semlak. The last text received on Skelley’s phone from Semlak was “here,” the petition read.

Through investigation, officers found that the buyer’s cell phone number — Semlak — was associated with the phone application “Cash App” and learned that the user information came back to a profile of “Ky Semlak.” Officers located a profile for “Casimir Semlak” in St. Paul.

Semlak was located and placed under arrest. At the time of his arrest, Semlak had in his possession a Springfield 9mm

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Hellcat handgun with an inserted magazine containing several bullets. The bullets in the magazine were the same brand as the shell casing found at the scene of the shooting.

Semlak also possessed the cell phone that exchanged messages with Skelley which has been submitted to the Dakota County Electronic Crimes Unit for further examination, according to the charges.