Keith Dawson has pleaded guilty in connection to a shooting that led to his stepson's death in June 2021. (Supplied)
STILLWATER, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man has pleaded guilty for his role in a 2021 drive-by shooting outside a high school graduation party in Woodbury that led to the death of his stepson.
Keith Dawson, 36, of Cottage Grove, opened fire outside a Woodbury grad party on June 5, 2021, in an attempt to scare some young men at the party who were reportedly threatening his kids. The young men returned fire, hitting and killing Dawson’s stepson,14-year-old Demaris Hobbs-Ekdal.
Dawson pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 17, to a charge of dangerous weapon drive-by shooting. During the virtual hearing, he admitted to getting a call from his son and going to the graduation party, where he shot his gun out of his vehicle window.
Court documents show he's willing to accept 104 months in prison (more than eight years) when he's sentenced, but he is allowed to argue for less. He must comply with a pre-sentencing investigation ahead of his sentencing at 1:15 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2023, the judge said.
This guilty plea comes more than a month before his trial was scheduled to begin, on Nov. 28.
The case against Keith Dawson
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Stepdad of teen killed in Woodbury shooting charged in connection to incident
The stepfather of the teen who died in a shooting near a graduation party in Woodbury has been charged in connection to the incident that led to the teen's death, according to Woodbury Public Safety.
According to investigators, Dawson was driving a white Chevrolet Tahoe on the night of the incident. After initially telling police he only drove to the area to pick up his 14-year-old stepson Demaris Hobbs-Ekdahl when he learned he was injured, Dawson admitted to having a larger role in the incident.
According to the criminal complaint, Dawson told police Demaris called him and said he and his brother were getting robbed and needed help. FOX 9 learned several males pulled a gun on Demaris' brother Davion. The group including Demaris left the party and met up with Dawson near a hotel, where Dawson said they needed to go back to the party to confront the others.
RELATED: Family speaks out after stepfather charged in connection to Woodbury shooting
Dawson then drove out to the area of the encounter on Edgewood Avenue with the intent of scaring the other group because they were "messing with his kids," according to Woodbury police. Dawson shot several rounds at a dark SUV and the group returned fire.
Dawson claims at the time he did not know Demaris and others had followed him out to Edgewood Avenue in a Kia Forte. Shots from the dark SUV hit the Kia and struck Demaris inside. When Dawson learned Demaris was injured, he transferred him into his Tahoe and tried to drive him to a hospital. On the way, Dawson tossed his handgun out the window, which police later found.
Dawson was originally charged with drive-by shooting, as well as two counts of second-degree assault and illegal possession of a firearm.
Jaden Townsend, 19, of St. Paul, and Enrique Davila, 23, are both charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and several counts of aiding and abetting second-degree assault in connection with the killing of 14-year-old Demaris. The charges also mention a 17-year-old boy as one of the suspects in the shooting.