Man charged in shooting outside Richfield school pleads guilty to murder
Mugshot for Fernando Valdez-Alvarez. (Credit: Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)
A Minneapolis man charged in a shooting outside a Richfield school that killed a teenager and hurt two others last year has opted to plead guilty and forgo a trial.
Wednesday, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said 19-year-old Fernando Valdez-Alvarez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault. He was scheduled to go on trial in just under two weeks.
RELATED: 2 men charged with 2nd-degree murder after fatal shooting outside Richfield school
His plea comes exactly one year after 15-year-old Jahmari Rice, a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old were shot outside the South Education Center in Richfield. The two older victims survived, although the 17-year-old was critically injured, but Rice died at the hospital.
Prosecutors say Valdez-Alvarez admitted to shooting Rice and the 17-year-old. The other man charged in the shooting, 20-year-old Alfredo Rosario Solis, was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this month on a second-degree assault charge.
Valdez-Alvarez is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23.
“School should be a safe sanctuary where kids can focus on learning, growing, and preparing for the future,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. “Mr. Valdez-Alvarez took that away from Jahmari Rice. We hope this admission of guilt is a positive step in the healing process for Jahmari’s family. Our office will continue to aggressively prioritize prosecution of violent crime and seek to hold those who commit violence accountable for their actions.”