Man sentenced for charge stemming from drive-by shooting near graduation party

Krystal Frasier KSTP

Keith Dawson

A man who pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from a fatal drive-by shooting near a graduation party learned his punishment Friday afternoon.

Keith Dawson, 36, of Cottage Grove, was given a sentence of seven years (84 months) in jail. However, the last third of that will be served on supervised release. He also received credit for 148 days already served.

Dawson was charged with felony counts of drive-by shooting, illegal possession of a gun and second-degree assault. According to the plea agreement, Dawson pleaded guilty in October to the drive-by shooting charge to cap his sentence at a maximum of 104 months, although the judge ultimately determined a lower sentence was appropriate.

A criminal complaint states Dawson fired shots from his truck toward people he thought were messing with his kids, saying he was only trying to scare them. They then fired back.

Dawson’s 14-year-old stepson, Demaris Hobbs-Ekdahl, was shot and later died at a hospital.

Three others were arrested and charged in connection to the shooting, which happened on June 5, 2021, near a graduation party.

As previously reported, Jaden Lavan Townsend was sentenced in June to serve three years (36 months) at the St. Cloud Correctional Facility for one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. He received credit for 371 days previously served. Townsend turned himself in after he was charged.

Meanwhile, Enrique Lucio Davila, 25, has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for Feb. 24. Davila is charged with one count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, as well as four counts of aiding and abetting second-degree assault.

Xavier Le’Drew Hudson was charged with aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and four counts of aiding and abetting second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. He has a motion hearing scheduled for March 20.