One of two brothers acquitted in 2019 killing of St. Paul firefighter; jury trial starts soon for the other
Aug. 11—One brother has been acquitted and the other is preparing for a jury trial in connection with the 2019 fatal shooting of St. Paul firefighter Tom Harrigan.
A jury on July 30 found Blake Caraway, 38, not guilty of second-degree intentional and second-degree unintentional murder. His brother, Dontay Caraway, 41, goes to trial Aug. 23 for the same charges in Ramsey County District Court.
Earl Gray, the attorney representing Blake, said the jury had to acquit because of a "lack of credible evidence."
The Ramsey County Attorney's Office declined comment as Dontay's trial is yet unresolved.
The Caraway brothers, both from St. Paul, showed up at Harrigan's house on St. Paul's East Side around 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 2, 2019.
Armed with a gun, Blake was there to help Dontay retrieve a cell phone after Harrigan kicked him out of his house for stealing, according to the charges.
The Caraway brothers encountered a woman staying at the house and demanded she turn over the phone, but she refused because Dontay had stolen some of her boyfriend's belongings while he lived there, according to the complaint.
When Harrigan intervened, witnesses told police that Blake shot him in the chest, according to the complaint. Harrigan died at the scene.
Harrigan was a decorated soldier who had served with the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan and was serving in the Minnesota National Guard at the time of his death. He had struggled after his tours and had entered a VA treatment program in St. Cloud to get help. But he was expelled after a week due to a confrontation with another patient.
