Man pleads guilty in case connected to 14-year-old boy shot and killed at graduation party

By KSTP

A St. Paul man pleaded guilty on Friday to charges related to the shooting death of a teen at a graduation party in 2021.

Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson said that Enrique Lucio Davila pleaded guilty to charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

The shooting happened on June 5, 2021, at a graduation party on the 6100 block of Edgewood Road in Woodbury around 10:30 p.m.

According to the court documents, Davila was part of a group of people at the party that flashed guns at others including 14-year-old Demaris Hobbs Ekdahl and his brother Davion.

Ekdahl contacted his stepfather Keith Dawson who met up with the teen, his brother, and friends and returned to the party with them when gunshots were exchanged between vehicles. 40 gun casings were found at the scene.

Ekdahl was hit by a bullet and pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities.

As part of the plea deal, Davila will serve 20 years in prison upon sentencing which is scheduled to take place on May 3.

Davila is one of four defendants in the case. Dawson was sentenced to seven years in jail, Jaden Lavan Townsend was sentenced to three years in prison, and Xavier Hudson was sentenced to more than 31 years in prison.