‘Today we get justice,’ sister of chef fatally shot at St. Paul funeral reception says in court

Larry Earl Jiles Jr cooked in the Twin Cities for over a decade He owned a gourmet takeout business in Centerville called Chef Hot Hands which was also his nickname But the business was not just about meals Jiles sister mentioned Friday at the sentencing of his killer John Lee Edmundson who received a mandatory minimum -year prison term It was about love connections and his force that made everyone feel good Chanel Jiles stated Larry Jiles Jr left and Troy Kennedy Courtesy of the family Jiles and Edmondson s cousin Troy Robert Kennedy were fatally shot outside a senior-living apartment building in St Paul on Feb following a repast for an -year-old woman Jiles and Kennedy were relatives of the woman and Jiles made largest part of the food for the gathering A jury in April convicted Edmondson of second-degree intentional murder in Jiles killing and acquitted him of killing Kennedy who was struck by ensuing gunfire Jurors also acquitted Edmondson of first-degree murder charges in connection with Jiles killing No one else has been charged in Kennedy s killing Observers testified at Edmundson s trial that it was peaceful until it ended when an argument broke out in the locality room and spilled outside Three others were wounded in the gun battle and police recovered shell casings that were fired from five guns Edmondson fired the first shot and nine more In a matter of minutes something so healthy and pure turned into something so vicious and corrupt Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro announced in handing down the sentence It is inexplicable to me and frankly it honestly breaks my heart Edmundson s mandatory minimum sentence fell under the state s heinous crimes law because he was convicted in of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and years had not elapsed since he was discharged from the imposed prison sentence in that matter Departure denied Officers were sent to the shooting behind Frogtown Square Apartments at University Avenue and Dale Street about p m Jiles was shot twice in the neck An autopsy proved Kennedy had two distant gunshot wounds from a bullet or bullets that exited his body Jiles was born in St Paul and raised in Hugo where he lived at the time of his death Kennedy was a St Paul resident John Lee Edmondson Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office Edmondson of St Louis Park claimed defense of others in Jiles killing He testified at his trial that he was driving his mother and niece in the parking lot when his mother spotted Jiles with a gun standing by a group Edmondson s attorney Ryan Pacyga recounted jurors that Edmondson walked over to the group and reported he tried to push down the gun as Jiles was raising it He then shot Jiles On Friday in arguing for a durational departure from sentencing guidelines Pacyga explained there was at least chosen aggression on Larry Jiles conduct that day to pull a gun out in a crowd He disclosed Edmondson responded to the alarming and crisis situation Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Hassan Tahir commented that nobody testified that Jiles pointed the gun at anyone or made threats toward anyone Edmondson admitted on the witness stand multiple times he had no idea what was even going on Tahir stated So for the court to treat that as an imperfect defense of specific kind would essentially mean whenever you see somebody with a gun out and you have no idea why they have that gun out or what they re planning on doing with it you get to go and shoot them In denying the departure motion Castro noted at no time was Edmondson under threat The jury determined that the defendant was not acting in defense of others the judge mentioned The victim may have possessed a gun but that alone is not enough to justify the departure Nowadays we get justice Larry Jiles Jr known as Chef Hot Hands was one of two men fatally shot in St Paul on Feb Courtesy of GoFundMe Jasmine Nixon Jiles sister notified the court that Edmondson took away a father from his kids and nowadays we get justice His life was stolen at she declared My brother Larry Earl Jiles Jr forever will be Related Articles He cared for everybody Mother remembers Columbia Heights teen allegedly killed by father Two charged after gunfight at downtown St Paul pool party Charges Man broke into St Paul girl s bedroom window to attempt assault Two shot and injured suspect dead after St Paul grocery store shooting spree Son of El Chapo pleads guilty in US drug trafficking episode Jiles mother Gretchen Bauman mentioned what Edmondson did was extremely evil Nobody believes outside of your family that you shot Larry in protection she stated Edmondson apologized to Jiles family then repeated his claim he was protecting his family I didn t know what was going on Mr Tahir he declared But I knew my family was in danger Edmondson disclosed Kennedy and his family deserve justice too Who shot him Judge Castro kept his words to Edmondson brief Only you know why you did what you did he explained when there were so plenty of more options for you to make