Teen pleads guilty, gets stayed prison sentence in shooting that hurt MPD officer
(FILE/KSTP)
The youngest of the four people charged in connection to a shooting that wounded a Minneapolis police officer over the summer has pleaded guilty.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office confirmed that the 17-year-old pleaded guilty last month to attempted second-degree murder.
He then received an extended jurisdiction juvenile disposition this week, meaning he’ll have to complete a juvenile program at the Red Wing prison but will avoid prison unless he violates the terms of the sentence. That potential 13-year (153-month) sentence will “hang over his head” until he’s 21.
It all stems from a shooting on Aug. 11 that injured Minneapolis police officer Jacob Spies. According to Minneapolis Police, officers spotted an SUV that matched the description of a vehicle used in a robbery just before 8 p.m. near 36th Avenue North and Queen Avenue North. Officers then learned the vehicle had fled police the day before.
Officers tried to stop the vehicle that night but it fled and they didn’t pursue. About an hour later, Spies spotted the vehicle while driving an unmarked squad car. The department says Spies called for backup and followed the SUV for about a mile.
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When he came around a curve and over a hill, gunshots hit his vehicle, with one hitting him in the shoulder. Police then chased the SUV until it crashed near 21st Avenue North and Upton Avenue North. Four people — three adults and the 17-year-old — were taken into custody.
Spies was treated at a hospital and released a few hours later. He was later publicly honored.