HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 10-23 Two men charged in fatal Maplewood bar fight PIONEER PRESS Two men charged in fatal Maplewood bar fight
Uptlate(1'f 023I1015 03:50-59 PM CDT TwinCities.com
Two men have been charged with beating a St.Paul man so badly during his birthday celebration at a Maplewood bar that
he died of heart failure hours later.
Brandon Jermel Smith,24,and Ronald Dean Smaller,24,both of St.Paul,were charged with second-degree murder of
Eduardo"Titi"Alberto Figueroa in November.
Figueroa,40,was celebrating his birthday at Freddy's Tiki Hut when he was assaulted,police and witnesses have said.
The incident started when Figueroa and the bar's owner told Smaller--who was yelling into his cellphone--to quiet down,
according to a criminal complaint.Smaller didn't.
Figueroa and the owner then tried to escort Smaller,along with Smith and a woman the two were with,out of the bar.
But on the way out the door,the woman grabbed the hair of Figueroa's 18-year-old daughter,according to the complaint.
When Figueroa tried to intervene,Smaller punched him in the head several times and knocked him to the ground,where
Smith kicked him repeatedly and then stomped on his head.
The men fled as Figueroa lost consciousness,and one of the bar's musicians recorded their license plate. .
The assault was captured on video.
Figueroa awoke and told police he didn't need to go to the hospital.But after returning to his North St.Paul home,he
collapsed,threw up,and struggled to breath.When paramedics arrived,they found him unresponsive in his bathroom;he
was pronounced dead at the scene.
Later that morning,Police found the car seen fleeing Freddy's in St.Paul's North End.Smith was asleep in the passenger
seat.
After being arrested,he denied assaulting Figueroa,but said he"may have stepped on him,"the complaint said.
Figueroa's daughter later identified Smaller as the second assailant.
The charges were delayed,Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell has said,until prosecutors and the medical examiner
retained a cardiovascular specialist to link the beating decisively to Figueroa's death.
"One of the key challenges in the case is making sure we can connect the assault and the death,"Schnell said in May.
The Ramsey County medical examiner ruled his death a homicide from"probable fatal cardiac arrhythmia due to assault:'
The examiner further noted Figueroa suffered from heart disease with a"near complete(blockage)of left coronary artery
and 50 percent(blockage)of left descending coronary artery."
Smith and Smaller both have previous convictions for domestic assault,violating no-contact orders,and minor drug and
traffc misdemeanors.
Smith has a felony conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon.
Smith is incarcerated in St.Cloud,and a warrant is out for Smaller's arrest,the Ramsey County Attorney's Office said
Friday,with bail amounts pre-set at$1 million.
Tad Vezner can be reached at 651-228-5461 or follow him on Twitter @SPnoir.