Teen pleads guilty to manslaughter in school stabbing
A teenager has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for fatally stabbing a fellow student at St. Paul’s Harding High School on Feb. 10. Devin Scott, 15, died of wounds to his heart, lung and abdomen after an older student stabbed him with a four-inch knife during a fight.
The Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged the boy, who turned 17 in August, with murder.
As part of an agreement with prosecutors, the teen pleaded guilty to a lesser charger of first-degree manslaughter. He’s expected to receive an eight-and-a-half year sentence that will be stayed until his 21st birthday. The plea deal requires the boy to receive mental health and behavioral treatment at the juvenile correctional facility in Red Wing.
MPR News typically does not name minors who are charged with crimes unless a court certifies them to be tried as adults.
Judge JaPaul Harris declined prosecutors’ request for adult certification. Harris’ order notes that while the seriousness of the offense supports certification to adult court, the teen “had no extensive record of serious delinquency” and has “expressed willingness to participate” in rehabilitative programming.
Harris also noted that the teen would receive more support in the juvenile system “versus an adult sentence that provides incarceration and further exposure to criminal attitudes and behaviors.”
In a victim impact statement included in the court filing, Devin’s family writes that there are “no words on this planet that explain how he touched each and everyone who crossed his path” and described the teen as “glowing, happy, and motivated.”
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