Oakdale Man, 23, Pleads Guilty In West St. Paul Apartment Killing

WEST ST. PAUL, MN — A 23-year-old Oakdale man pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder in a fatal shooting at an apartment in West St. Paul. Nathan Wesley Mcdonald killed 21-year-old Lawrence Terrance Renfro on July 9, 2019, police said. He's scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 5.

The first degree murder charge against Mcdonald will be dismissed, authorities said.

A jury trial for co-defendant Terrell Theo Payne, 20, of Little Canada, is scheduled for Oct. 26, 2020. Payne faces two counts of murder.

On the morning of July 9, 2019, a friend of Lawrence Renfro went to the apartment where Renfro was living. The friend found the door to Renfro’s ground floor apartment locked and when no one answered his knock, he walked to the bedroom window, where he found the screen damaged.

When he went through the window, he found Renfro dead on a couch in the living room with Renfro’s 2-year-old child sitting next to him. The friend took the child and called police.

Police said they found five 9 millimeter casings. An autopsy found that Renfro suffered five gunshot wounds, including one to his head, according to a news release.

Later that month, Payne was arrested and told police he and Mcdonald went to Renfro’s apartment July 9 in Mcdonald’s Chevy Malibu and attempted to enter the apartment complex through the main door, according to police.

After they were unable to enter through the main door, they left and went through the bedroom window of Renfro’s apartment, the complaint shows.

Payne said Renfro woke up and told them to “get out of here.” Mcdonald then shot Renfro multiple times, according to police.