ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A 16-year-old from central Minnesota is facing murder charges after allegedly hitting and killing a man while driving a stolen vehicle in St. Cloud.
The Stearns County Attorney's Office charged the Sauk Rapids teen with one count each of first- and second-degree murder Monday, stemming from the death of a 70-year-old man Friday. KARE 11 does not typically name juvenile suspects.
According to court documents, the teen called St. Cloud police just after 8 p.m. Friday to report he "had run a person over with his vehicle." When officers responded to the scene on the 1700 block of 6th Avenue North, the complaint says, they found an unresponsive man.
Prosecutors say the man was taken to the St. Cloud Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Once taken into custody for questioning, authorities say the teen admitted to stealing the vehicle from the St. Cloud YMCA, and when he saw the victim walking on the sidewalk, "decided to run him over." Court documents say the teen told investigators that's when he began to slowly drive up behind the man before accelerating, striking him.
The criminal complaint alleges the teen told police he was "listening to a song about murder" when the victim was killed.
Officers later obtained surveillance video from the YMCA, showing the teen taking the vehicle and then driving onto the walking path.
In his first court appearance Monday, a Stearns County judge set the teen's bail at $2 million.
If convicted, he faces a sentence of life in prison.
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