Minnesota : Synika James

Written By Navigating Advocacy Podcast

Saint Paul is the capital of Minnesota and has just over 300,000 residents. The area was inhabited by the Hopewell Native American Tribe 2000 years ago, and then eventually, the Sioux Tribes lived in the area.  Six burial grounds have been made into a park interestingly named Indian Mounds Park, and the oldest of these mounds was constructed 2500 years ago. At least 31 other mounds were destroyed by development over the last few centuries. 

Saint Paul is another city along the Mississippi River, which aided many towns in becoming industrialized much more quickly than others. I found it surprising that Saint Paul is a pretty humid place in the summer. They have obviously harsh winters with lots of snow and have been known to be subjected to cold arctic air masses. I didn't even know what that meant, but it did not sound good to this Florida girl. In case anyone wants to know, air masses are relatively large bodies of air that are fairly horizontally uniform in characteristics. Arctic Masses are the coldest of all masses. Let’s just say it's ridiculously cold when this happens. 

The city has a lot of manufacturing-type jobs. Another interesting fact is Saint Paul is second in the United States in the number of higher education institutions per capita, just behind Boston. 

The crime in Saint Paul is not too good like at all. According to Neighborhood Scout, Saint Paul is rated a 3 out of 100, with 100 being the safest and obviously, three is pretty bad. We are talking over two and a half times more violent crimes than the average for Minnesota towns. Then over two times the average for property crimes. I don't want you to think that the rest of Minnesota is super safe, which is why this city seems so bad. Minnesota as a state is pretty even with the United States average. The last statistic, and we will get onto the case, is there are 267 crimes per square mile in Saint Paul, only 26.8 crimes per square mile on average in the United States, and then just 22 crimes per square mile in Minnesota. That is a huge difference, and lawmakers in this area must determine how to create change. This cannot continue. And if those numbers do not convince you, I think your mind will be changed after we talk about today’s unsolved murder of Synika George James.  

Synika was born on October 10th, 1978, to parents George "Buster" James and Diana James. In his childhood, he lived in South Bend, Indiana, and then his family would eventually move to Saint Paul, Minnesota. Synika had just celebrated his birthday on October 15th, 2015, when he was murdered at a friend's vigil. This friend was also murdered. His 37th birthday was one for celebration. Synika had been sober for seven or eight months and felt proud of this accomplishment. He was a father to six children, ages seven to twenty. He was known for his huge heart, love of making people laugh, and cooking. Synika had many siblings, giving him many nieces and nephews, and he loved kids. So with his own six and his siblings' children, we could say he loved this large family. 

Now for that fateful day, on October 14th, 2015, Synika had helped get his nephew off the school bus that afternoon.  After that, Synika and two of his sisters had plans to attend a childhood friend named Naressa Turner’s vigil. It was the third anniversary of her murder, and her mother wanted one last remembrance event in the very spot she was killed. 

Thirty to forty people gathered in an alleyway near Cypress Street and East Reaney Avenue on the east side of Saint Paul.  Just after six pm, a man jumped out of a vehicle and started shooting. In all of the commotion, Synika was trying to push children out of the way of the gunfire when he was shot in the chest. After the attacker fled on foot, the family and friends loaded him in a personal vehicle and drove quickly to get him medical attention. The worried family flagged down an ambulance where they started to render aid, but unfortunately, it wouldn't matter because Synika James was dead. There are reports that somewhere between 10 and 12 shots were fired at this peaceful crowd that included many children. 


Narressa’s mother, Odessa Turner, believed the shooting had to do with retaliation and her daughter. Odessa stated, “I just can’t believe this happened at my daughter’s vigil. I blame myself for what happened. We were not out there longer than 15 minutes, and they came and shot the place up.”  Odessa believed this theory because the man charged and convicted of her daughter’s murder was a member of a local gang named Eastside Boyz, spelled with a z. 

Apparently, Naressa’s roommate had spread rumors about Naressa that she aided another gang called Selby Siders in the murder of Dominic Neely, a member of the Eastside Boyz. These two gangs have had a long, violent past against each other. But once these rumors were out there, no one could do anything to stop the sequence of events from happening.

Threats started coming from the gang, and Naressa fled to safety in Georgia. Soon as she came back to the Saint Paul area, she was killed as she sat in a parked vehicle in the same alley where Synika would be killed exactly three years later. Naressa was just 20 years old and a mother to a little girl when she was murdered. 

Back to Synika’s murder, authorities found two types of shell casing, so was there more than one shooter? Could the witnesses not notice because of all the chaos? Or did the killer use two different guns? One of Synika’s sisters, Clarrissa, stated, “This was a grown … man that had nothing to do with this stuff. This is about kids being disrespectful and not having value for anyone’s life.” Synika James is deeply missed. In the days after his murder, his mother stated people she had never met coming up to her and asked for a hug, giving their condolences for the loss of a great man with a big heart. Most people believe Synika was not the target that evening. My question is, was there even a target, or was this gang upset that one of their members was doing life in prison for Naressa’s murder, so they wanted to take it out on the people that loved her? 

This community has had enough of the violence. On Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, about 75 residents turned out to call for peace and security in the  East Side neighborhood where not only Synika was murdered but also four other people within the same month. That’s five murders in one neighborhood in 30 days. This community said enough is enough and started this protest to get better funding for police and more resources for parents to help their children stay off the streets. They wanted more after-school activities to keep the kids out of trouble. A few local mothers stated children in that area could get a gun with a quick phone call. They are tired of seeing their kids shot and killed by other kids. 

The SaintPaul.gov website, stated, “The St. Paul Police Gang Unit is dedicated to eliminating gang-related violence.

Our strategies to combat gang violence include prevention, intervention, and apprehension. We are committed to working with our community partners to create opportunities for young people. Our officers serve as educators, mentors, and coaches in our efforts to make our neighborhoods safer and improve the quality of life for our entire community.” 

However, in 2020 Ramsey County, the county Saint Paul is located in, decided to dissolve its gang task force because they did not see the desired results. So officials decided not to use police resources for it. This seems insane, considering it's a huge problem in this city. I listened to a news report that stated people are using Glock 19s equipped with a switch that turns them into machine guns, body armor, and lasers.

But after more digging on this subject, I learned they aren't giving up on gang violence but not classifying these people as gang members. They decided to take each crime and person as an individual to determine the next steps versus, oh, this is a gang member so we need a separate team that works on those cases. 

Thankfully, in 2022 Project PEACE was implemented, and the Office of Neighborhood Safety is leading this. It is a new initiative focused on deterring gun violence in the community through prevention, environmental design, accountability, community action, and enforcement. The Mayor announced $10 million in new investments is funded through the City of Saint Paul American Rescue Plan. The residents of Minnesota are starting to see some change with the added resources. 

If you know anything about Synika’s unsolved murder, please call Crime Stoppers of Minnesota HOTLINE: 800-222-8477 or go to Crimestoppersms.org and leave an anonymous tip. There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for killing Synika. 

Navigating Advocacy Podcast

Whitney and Melissa, hosts of Navigating Advocacy, blend their true crime interests with a mission to spark justice through storytelling, inspiring action, and building a community of advocates.

https://www.navigatingadvocacy.com
Previous

Mississippi : Jarrod Johnston
Next

Michigan : Renee Welka