Charges: St. Paul boys, ages 14 and 17, fatally stabbed man 22 times

Two boys, ages 17 and 14, stabbed a young man on a St. Paul street nearly two dozen times, with most of the wounds inflicted to the victim’s back, according to prosecutors.

Jeremy Joe Davila, 17, of St. Paul was charged Monday in Ramsey County District Court with aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder in connection with the March 31 attack on Jay’Mier Keymari Givens, 19, in the 1400 block of E. 6th Street in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood.

Davila remains in the juvenile detention center ahead of a June 3 hearing. A message was left Wednesday with his attorney seeking a response to the allegations.

Prosecutors have indicated they intend to pursue having Davila’s case moved to adult court, where a sentence upon conviction would be more severe.

On April 7, a 14-year-old boy was arrested on allegations that he participated in the stabbing that killed Givens, of St. Paul.

While state law prevents the release of other details about the younger teen or the specific allegations against him, the charging document against Davila identifies a 14-year-old boy with the initials J.C. as his lone alleged accomplice. The two live at the same home about three blocks from where Givens was killed.

According to the juvenile petition filed against Davila, who turned 17 on the day of the killing:

A 911 caller prompted Fire Department medics to head to the scene, where they found Givens on his back on the sidewalk outside a home near Harding High School about 11:25 p.m. He died about 30 minutes later at Regions Hospital.

A county medical examiner’s autopsy found that Givens was stabbed 22 times, including 18 times in the back.

Police recovered Givens’ cellphone nearby. Phone data showed him communicating with someone that night about an invitation to come “smoke n chill,” the petition read.

Police search the teens’ home on April 8 and saw spots of blood on a hallway wall and in the kitchen. They also found two knives, one bent, hidden in the basement rafters. Also recovered were two sets of clothing consistent with what a resident’s surveillance video captured two people wearing around the time of the killing.

J.C. was arrested at his school. He said he and Davila met up with Givens on the day he was killed and later heard that he had died, but he denied involvement. He was released April 11 without being charged.

Police learned from J.C.’s girlfriend that he was upset because Givens threatened to kill her 18-month-old son.

On April 29, J.C.’s mother told police her son confessed to being involved in Givens’ death.

Davila was arrested on April 30. After offering various accounts of his whereabouts on the night of the killing, Davila acknowledged that he and J.C. met with Givens, but he said he did not know anything about the knives and clothing found in the basement rafters of his home.

Police again arrested J.C. on May 1 at his foster home in St. Paul. They seized a notebook from under the boy’s mattress that included a description of Givens’ death.

“Poked in the back,” one passage read. “He tried to ron. Now we havin hella fun.” Another passage noted his anger at Givens for disrespecting his girlfriend’s son. J.C. denied to police that it was his notebook.

But once police put J.C.’s biological mother on the phone with him, he admitted writing the incriminating passages. He went on to admit being in the woods smoking marijuana with Davila and Givens.

J.C. claimed Givens pulled a knife on him, and Davila drew a knife and stabbed Givens. J.C. said he picked up Givens’ knife, and he and Davila both stabbed Givens. The wounded man ran from the woods and collapsed nearby on the sidewalk.