“Man Sentenced to Prison in Shooting Death of Raymond Renteria-Hobbs Outside St. Paul Bar”

Accident – death – Obituary News : Second Man Sentenced to Prison in St. Paul Bar Shooting

A second man has been sentenced to prison in connection with the shooting death of a 20-year-old outside a bar in St. Paul in 2021. Bobby Neal Cole Jr. received a sentence of 18 years and three months on Thursday after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder.

The incident took place outside the St. Paul Saloon in the city’s Dayton’s Bluff area on February 23, 2021. Raymond Renteria-Hobbs was killed in the shooting, while a 26-year-old woman was injured.

Cole, 27, of St. Paul, had been indicted along with his co-defendant Andrew Vernard Glover in late 2021. The grand jury charged them with aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated murder and aiding and abetting first-degree murder by drive-by shooting, among other charges.

In a plea deal with prosecutors on November 3, Cole agreed to the duration of the sentence, which was a downward departure. As part of the deal, the remaining charges against him were dismissed. Cole was given credit for the 641 days he had already served in custody.

Glover, 39, of St. Paul, faced a jury trial in September. His defense attorney argued that he was not the triggerman in the shooting. However, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder by drive-by shooting, and he was sentenced to life in prison in October.

Glover has appealed his conviction, and last month, oral arguments were held before the state Supreme Court. The case is currently pending a decision.

During the oral arguments, Jennifer Workman, Glover’s public defender, argued that the district court had made errors in the case. She claimed that the court had concluded probable cause existed to arrest Glover and search his residence based on “grainy, dark” surveillance video. Workman also argued that the court’s exclusion of Cole’s previous gun crimes as evidence and the denial of Glover’s attorney to cross-examine the lead investigator impeded and undermined Glover’s constitutional rights.

Surveillance video of the incident showed Renteria-Hobbs entering the St. Paul Saloon and greeting several people. Two men arrived a few minutes later in a silver Dodge Journey and entered the bar. One of the men, wearing a Chicago White Sox hat, greeted Renteria-Hobbs, while Glover did not. The video showed Glover monitoring Renteria-Hobbs’ whereabouts while he was at the bar.

Glover and Renteria-Hobbs had a conversation on the patio and inside the bar. Glover left, and Renteria-Hobbs followed him outside. Renteria-Hobbs walked towards the driver’s side of Glover’s car, while the man in the Sox hat went to the passenger side. Surveillance footage then showed the woman hiding behind a truck as the shooting began. Renteria-Hobbs ran in front of the truck as Glover drove away.

Renteria-Hobbs fell, got up, ran back to the bar, and dropped a damaged and inoperable handgun in front of the business. An autopsy revealed that Renteria-Hobbs had been shot 10 times. Most of the casings were found on the ground where the driver’s door of Glover’s car had been, with additional casings along the path of the Dodge Journey.

According to the complaint, Renteria-Hobbs was a member of the Ham Crazy gang, and there were rumors that he was shot because he had stolen a gun.

Glover had nine prior felony convictions, including three for possession of a firearm by an ineligible person. Cole, on the other hand, had been convicted and imprisoned in Illinois for being a felon in possession of a firearm before being brought to Ramsey County to face the murder charge.

Just over a year before Renteria-Hobbs’ killing, Cole had been sentenced to the workhouse for an armed robbery. However, the prosecution and the victim had sought prison time for Cole. The judge had given him a probationary sentence, with the threat of prison time if he violated the terms of his probation. In June 2021, a probation officer reported that Cole’s whereabouts were unknown, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The sentencing of Bobby Neal Cole Jr. marks another step towards justice in the tragic shooting that took the life of Raymond Renteria-Hobbs. While the case against Andrew Vernard Glover is currently pending a decision, the conviction and sentencing of both men send a strong message that violent crimes will not be tolerated in our community..