Following Fatal Robbery, Teacher Recalls Good Kid Prone to Bad Choices
Alice Smith’s Brian Cosgriff started teaching Melvin D. Fletcher Jr. when the boy was 5 years old. St. Paul police shot Fletcher after they say he tried to rob a Kowalski’s.
Brian Cosgriff got to know Melvin D. Fletcher Jr. well over the years. Cosgriff—the Alice Smith physical education teacher and head girls’ basketball coach—started teaching Fletcher when the boy was five. Later, Fletcher and his older brother, Mandel Perkins, lived with Cosgriff periodically when things got hard. “He was a very low-key, easygoing guy—friendly, handsome athletic, mischievous—but never did I think he would hurt anybody,” Cosgriff said. “From the bottom of my heart, I know he was a good kid. I mean, I left my daughter with him.” But on Monday, police say Fletcher robbed the Grand Avenue Kowalski's Markets in St. Paul, armed with a gun. He was fatally shot after he fled through a rear entrance. The boy Cosgriff came to know …
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John Eide
11:08 pm on Monday, February 4, 2013
Melvin Fletcher Jr. was shot at least 3 times in the back twice in the back of the head! There is an investagation into the matter. Jr. was not a violent person. I believe this will become a criminal complant against the St. Paul police. i want to get this out in public. My number 952 240 1431 more ›