A second 16-year-old St. Paul boy has received a five-year stayed juvenile prison sentence after pleading guilty to his role in the shooting death of a 19-year-old man outside an Inver Grove Heights movie theater.
Samson Chu pleaded guilty to first-degree riot in connection with the March 24 shooting of rapper Billy Ray Robles in the parking lot of AMC Showplace 16 following a fight between two gangs after they stepped off a party bus.
In exchange for the guilty plea, charges of attempted murder and second-degree assault were dismissed.
Earlier this month, Daunte Maurice Martin, 16, of St. Paul, also pleaded guilty to first-degree riot and received a 48-month sentence, which was stayed until age 21.
Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom said Tuesday that both teens could serve their sentences as adults if they violate terms or conditions imposed by juvenile court.
Backstrom said evidence shows that Chu fired a gun, but not the shots that killed Robles. Martin had a gun but did not shoot it, Backstrom said.
The attorney’s office this month also added an attempted-murder charge against 17-year-old Trashaun Nij Morris and have filed a motion to certify him as an adult. He was previously charged with first-degree riot and second-degree assault.
“Investigators are doing their best to sort out the facts and hope to find sufficient evidence to prove who fired the fatal shot,” Backstrom said.
Meanwhile, Taishawn Taquan Smith, 18, of Crystal, has been charged with second-degree riot.