Court: Teen in fatal Woodbury graduation party shooting can be charged as adult

A teenager who is charged in connection to a fatal shooting at a graduation party in Woodbury last summer can be prosecuted as an adult.

Xavier Le’Drew Hudson is accused of participating in a shootout that killed 14-year-old Demaris Hobbs-Ekdahl on June 5, 2021.

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At the time, Hudson was two months from his 18th birthday, meaning he was charged as a juvenile, but prosecutors moved to certify him as an adult and the juvenile court granted the request. Hudson appealed, saying his “mental impairment” from a history of trauma and the fact that he wasn’t the initial aggressor in the shooting weren’t properly taken into account by the juvenile court.

Last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals said that Hudson’s alleged offenses are “extremely serious” and “strongly favor” adult certification before ruling that the juvenile court didn’t err in its ruling to certify Hudson as an adult.

Hudson is charged with aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and four counts of aiding and abetting second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

Several others have also been arrested and charged in connection to the shooting, including Keith Dawson, Enrique Davila and Jaden Townsend. Keith is scheduled for a jury trial beginning on Nov. 28. Davila has a court hearing set for Friday. Townsend has a jury trial set to begin on June 21.