A St. Paul man is headed to prison for 30 years after a shooting outside a north Minneapolis church turned a 2021 funeral gathering into a crime scene. Kevin Mason, 31, received a 360-month sentence for killing 29-year-old Dontevius Catchings outside Shiloh Temple, closing a case that stretched across state lines and included a brief, high-profile mistaken jail release.
Conviction and Sentence
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said a jury found Mason guilty of second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony and illegal possession of a firearm. Prosecutors pushed for a lengthy prison term, arguing the violence tore through both Catchings’ family and the broader community.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the verdict held Mason accountable and reflected the harm caused by the shooting. According to KARE 11, a judge imposed a 360-month sentence during a hearing on Wednesday.
What Prosecutors Say Happened
Prosecutors said the violence broke out during a visitation at Shiloh Temple in June 2021, when an argument between Mason and Catchings inside the church moved into the parking lot. Witnesses and court filings describe a dispute over a gun, followed by multiple shots fired at Catchings as he walked away. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Those details came out in trial coverage and in court documents reviewed by KSTP.
Arrest, Accidental Release and Recapture
Authorities say Mason fled Minnesota after the shooting and was arrested in Indiana more than two years later as part of a multi-agency operation. The Marion County, Indiana, jail then mistakenly released him just two days after that arrest, triggering a manhunt led by the U.S. Marshals Service…