Family expresses anger as first person convicted in Alex Becker murder is sentenced

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
Updated ·7 min read
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Alex Becker’s mother said in court Friday that she was trying to be the type of person her 22-year-old son was: Kind and caring, he spent his life helping others and trying to make everyone’s life better.

But it was hard to be compassionate like Becker, she said, when Detwan Cortell Allen — the 20-year-old being sentenced in Becker’s murder — and Allen’s friends “took Alex’s life without a thought or reason.”

“He sentenced our family to a life of unhappy suffering,” Tara Becker said during her victim impact statement. “I will never forgive his selfishness. … Every moment of the rest of my life will be tinged with sadness.”

Allen, the first person sentenced in the St. Paul murder of Becker, received a 30-year sentence Friday.

Jurors in December found Allen guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder in the killing of Becker. Prosecutors said he was ambushed in an apparent attempted robbery by Allen and two accomplices.

The prosecution argued for the maximum sentence allowed under state sentencing guidelines, 367 months, which is what Ramsey County District Judge Paul Yang agreed to.

Allen’s attorney, Jeremy Plesha, argued before the sentencing that his client should get a new trial because Arteze Owen Kinerd pleaded guilty in the case after Allen was convicted.

Kinerd said during his guilty plea that he was the “only shooter in this case,” and Allen didn’t have a weapon nor did he “take part in the murder of Alex Becker,” Plesha said.

The evidence in Allen’s trial was “this was a robbery gone wrong,” Plesha said.

Yang did not grant the motion for a new trial.

Allen spoke briefly before he was sentenced, saying he wanted to send his condolences to Becker’s family.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “I didn’t have any knowledge that these events would occur. Deep down in my heart, I believe that your significant other was an innocent man and did not deserve to lose his life.”

Walk home after long work day

On Dec. 27, 2022, Becker’s first day back at work after Christmas, clocked out of a 10-hour shift at 11:15 p.m. from Goodin Co., the Como Avenue heating and plumbing parts company. He was walking back to his family’s North End home.

He’d been saving up money to get his driver’s license and a car, said his father, Tim Becker, at Allen’s sentencing. Alex Becker was excited when he talked about going to school and getting into a trade.

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“I was lucky to get to work with him, side by side,” said Tim Becker, of working with his son at Goodin. He made everyone laugh and “you could hear his laugh throughout the whole warehouse. … I miss him so much. I can still hear his laughter when I’m at work. Everything in this world is less without him.”

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis on Dec. 27, 2022, Allen led a group of two other friends — Kinerd and Shaun Lamar Travis — out of an apartment building and to a Toyota Camry that had been stolen the day before, said Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Saraswati Singh. Allen drove them to a residential neighborhood in St. Paul.

Becker walked along Kent Street, by Crossroads Elementary, the school he attended as a child.

“He was just wearing regular clothes, all bundled up” against the cold, Singh said. “Nothing flashy on him, no fancy car, nothing to indicate that he had money or wealth or anything worth stealing.”

‘Ambush’ in alley

Allen drove past slowly, made the first left turn he could and then a U-turn. He parked in front of a building, and Allen and his friends exited. They arranged themselves out of Becker’s view and Allen was again leading the way, Singh said of what surveillance video showed.

“Mr. Allen is watching Alex as he … turns into the alleyway, a place that’s more secluded, that’s less public, that’s more confined, that’s an easier place to ambush,” Singh said. Allen was the first to run after Becker, she added.

A neighbor’s video system recorded the sounds of four gunshots in rapid fire, then a seven-second pause and three more shots, another pause and a final shot, Singh said in court Friday.

Officers who were called to the area arrived just after midnight Dec. 28, 2022. They located Becker with his jacket hood still up — “it prevented him from seeing his periphery,” Singh said. His earbuds had fallen to the snow and his glasses were buried in the snow.

An autopsy found Becker had been shot six times, including in the chest, but most the shots were to his back and indicated he was crouching. “Alex didn’t have a chance,” Singh said. “… He was outnumbered.”

Becker had younger siblings and they’re now scared to play in “their own backyard” because their brother was killed right behind the garage, Singh said.

For Allen’s part, he was “shocked” and ran away, said Plesha, his attorney. He got the car and picked up his friends to leave the area. Becker’s cellphone and wallet weren’t taken.

Allen “did not intend the death of Mr. Becker,” Plesha said. “… There is a difference between someone who intends to commit a robbery or theft, and unfortunately surrounds themselves with individuals capable of far greater crimes, and then becomes part of something they did not intend.”

Next sentencing in June

Although Allen has prior juvenile offenses and was on probation three times, those juvenile offenses didn’t count for criminal history “points” to calculate his sentence, Singh said. He has two other pending court cases but because they haven’t reached a conclusion, they also didn’t affect his criminal history points, which were counted as zero.

The state sentencing guidelines range for the offense for someone with no criminal history points is 21 years to 30 years in prison, and Singh asked for the maximum sentence, saying Allen is a public safety risk. Plesha requested 21 years, asking Yang to consider that Allen was “less of a participant in the death of Mr. Becker.”

Yang, who presided over Allen’s trial, said Becker’s killing initially seemed to stem from a robbery, but he said Friday to Allen, “when you really look closer at the evidence, it’s like you guys are hunting.” He said they chased down their “prey,” surrounded him and shot Becker “as your target practice,” based on pauses between the gunshots.

“You led the chase, led the kill, you also led the escape,” Yang said to Allen, saying he deserved the longest sentence under the guidelines.

Kinerd, now 21, pleaded guilty in February to aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

In December, Ramsey County District Judge JaPaul Harris acquitted Travis after he waived his right to a jury trial and a bench trial was held instead. Harris concluded there wasn’t a dispute about the 26-year-old Travis being present, but said the prosecution didn’t prove all of the elements of an intentional murder charge to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Acts of kindness in Alex’s memory

Idele Johnson, Becker’s cousin, remembered him for his thoughtfulness.

“If Alex knew that you like something, whether that be a certain treat, toy, flower, whatever it was, … he would get it for, you hands down,” Johnson said in a victim impact statement read in court.

In his memory, Becker’s family started a Facebook group, “Act of Kindness Day honoring Alex Becker,” and Johnson said they encourage “random acts of kindness in honor of how Alex lived his normal, everyday life” and ask people to share them on the Facebook page.

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