MINNEAPOLIS—A second man pleaded guilty Wednesday in the death of a 15-year-old outside a suburban Minneapolis school in a shooting that also seriously injured another teen.
Fernando Valdez-Alvarez, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault. He made the plea two weeks before his trial was scheduled to begin.
Valdez-Alvarez was charged in the Feb. 1 shooting death of Jahmari Rice outside South Education Center in Richfield. According to court documents, Valdez-Alvarez admitted to killing Rice and injuring a 17-year-old student.
In December, Alfredo Solis, 20, was found guilty of second-degree assault but acquitted of second-degree murder and other charges in the shootings. Solis was sentenced to three years in prison.
Valdez-Alvarez is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23.
All of those involved were students at the school. The shooting stemmed from a confrontation between the four students and another teen.
South Education Center has about 200 students and offers special education programs and an alternative school, according to the school’s website.
