A 19-year-old from Minnesota has been sentenced to over ten years in prison for the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old man who was walking with his cousins.

Jehovah Nelson admitted guilt in October to second-degree murder with intent in the case of Dejuan Hemphill’s death in St. Paul. On Tuesday, the court handed Nelson a sentence of 12 and a half years behind bars.

According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, St. Paul police were in the vicinity of Rice Street and University Avenue just before 5 p.m. on November 5, 2024, when they heard several gunshots. Officers then noticed a man fleeing the scene. After apprehending him, he explained that he was with his two cousins when someone began shooting at them.

Officers found Hemphill with a gunshot wound at the back of his head. He was rushed to the hospital by paramedics. A doctor described the injury as one of the most severe she had ever encountered, according to the affidavit. Hemphill succumbed to his injuries 10 days later.

Hemphill’s cousin reported to the police that they heard three gunshots from behind as they were walking, resulting in Hemphill falling to the ground. Despite efforts to help him, they were unable to lift him.

Surveillance video showed the cousins had been at a liquor store moments before the shooting. Nelson’s co-defendant, Kenneth Terry, now 19, was in the store at the same time and watched the trio walk outside. Witnesses said the suspects targeted the victims because Terry was upset one of them was speaking with the mother of his child. Terry and a man later identified as Nelson, who was wearing a Michael Myers mask from the “Halloween” movie franchise, began following the three men who were “unaware that they were being hunted,” cops wrote.

Video showed that Nelson entered a shooting position and fire at the back of his head.

Detectives obtained a warrant for Nelson’s Snapchat account which revealed he had been bragging about the shooting.

“Pick yo homie up go check dude on rice head tap b—,” Nelson wrote with a gunshot and explosion emojis.

Nelson also asked Terry about the murder weapon.

“Please tell me u sold it,” Nelson asked.

Police arrested Nelson and Terry in February. Terry pleaded guilty to second-degree murder without intent last month and is slated to be sentenced on Dec. 30.