Man sentenced to 47 years for 2 murders, 2 attempted murders following last-minute plea deal
A 20-year-old man was sentenced in Hennepin County Court on Wednesday for two murders and two attempted murders last summer.
A Hennepin County judge accepted a plea deal, sentencing Calon Hatchett to just over 47 years (567 months) behind bars.
Hatchett pleaded guilty on all four counts, admitting he shot and killed Ali Reed, 26, and Tonia Powell, 30, one month later.
Last week, we sat down with Reed’s who were frustrated by the last minute deal. They said they were previously assured a deal wouldn’t be necessary and asked the judge on Wednesday to reject the deal.
Powell’s mother spoke directly to Hatchett during the hearing.
“I’m supposed to sit up here and say something politically correct, like, how I can forgive you. I don’t,” she said. “I hate you. I hate you.”
The judge and prosecuting attorney acknowledges the unexpected and last minute nature of the plea deal and the short notice given to the victims’ families.
“It was a product of a plea coming together with the jury in the hallway, and having to take advantage of that to get Mr. Hatchett in prison for as long as possible,” explained Jacob Fischmann, the prosecuting attorney from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Judge Paul Scoggin ultimately accepted the more than 47-year sentence.
“I am going to follow the negotiation in this case, not because I believe it is the just and true, and right thing to do, but because I do believe it reflects the sides’ assessment of what the risk is,” Judge Scoggin said.
Hackett had few words when prompted by Scoggin to speak, saying, “I apologize to everybody that I’ve hurt by doing these crimes.”
The judge also ordered Hachett to pay restitution. The amount was not decided during Wednesday’s hearing.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office issued the following statement Wednesday evening,
“My thoughts are with the victims who survived Mr. Hatchett’s crimes and with the families of Ali Reed
and Tonia Powell, who did not,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. “It is a difficult fact of
prosecution that no sentence can return what was lost for Mr. Hatchett’s victims or their loved ones, but
the nearly 50 years on his sentence ensures he is unable to harm our community for decades.”