Charges: Wisconsin man shot St. Paul Lyft driver who was staring at him
A Wisconsin man was been charged after he turned himself in for the shooting of a rideshare driver in St. Paul last week, authorities say.
Anthony Batton Harris, 26, of Milwaukee, was charged via a complaint warrant on Tuesday with second-degree attempted murder in the Feb. 17 incident.
Batton Harris was arrested in Milwaukee on Feb. 20, jail records show. He turned himself in to police after speaking with a St. Paul homicide-robbery investigator, St. Paul Police Department spokesperson Steve Linders told Bring Me The News.
He told investigators he'd gotten off a bus and requested a Lyft but when he got into the SUV, the driver was staring at him. Batton Harris then shot the driver during the ride and fled back to Milwaukee, court documents allege.
The charges
According to the criminal complaint, surveillance video showed Batton Harris got off a bus and requested a Lyft ride from Union Depot in St. Paul at about 5:22 p.m. on Feb. 17.
Video captured a Hyundai SUV stop to pick up Batton Harris and then drive off, with Lyft records showing the destination was 1541 Old Hudson Road, charges said.
At about 5:43 p.m., St. Paul police responded to the area of Old Hudson Road and North Flandrau Street on a report from a 911 caller that an unresponsive man was lying in the street.
The man, identified as the Lyft driver, had multiple gunshot wounds to his back and arm, and his clothes were soaked in blood, charges said. The victim told police a customer shot him and took his SUV.
The victim was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery and was listed in critical condition, charges and police said. Linders on Tuesday said the Lyft driver is "recovering from his injuries and [is] expected to survive."
Meanwhile, police tracked the victim's vehicle to 1204 Ross Ave. in St. Paul, where they found the Hyundai running. No one was inside the SUV, and there was a bullet near the driver's side door. Police tried to make contact with the people inside the home, but "no one answered or complied," charges said.
Then, at 9:29 p.m. on Feb. 18, Batton Harris called Ramsey County 911 dispatch, saying he was in Milwaukee and wanted to turn himself in for shooting his Lyft driver, the complaint states.
Batton Harris told a St. Paul police investigator he'd gotten off the bus and ordered a Lyft. When he got into the SUV, the driver was staring at him. He shot the driver during the ride and then fled to Milwaukee, according to the complaint.
