MINNEAPOLIS — Calling him a "lesser-involved" defendant in a shooting that killed one person and injured others, Hennepin County prosecutors have struck a deal with 18-year-old Cyrell Boyd that will allow him to avoid doing hard time in prison.
Boyd agreed to testify against co-defendant Dominic Burris, who the county attorney's office accuses of firing a gun multiple times into a crowd at a punk music show known as Nudieland back in August 2023. One victim - August Golden - was killed and at least six others injured in the incident.
The shooting occurred when Boyd was 17 years old. He was originally charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and six other felony counts.
“The plea deal that we have agreed to with Mr. Boyd is critical to us pursuing an intentional murder case against Dominic Burris, who was the instigator and main perpetrator of the terrible events that occurred at Nudieland,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said.
“Mr. Boyd provided critical evidence that allowed us to develop an ironclad case against Mr. Burris. This led us to change our plea offer for Mr. Burris which includes an increased period of incarceration and will require him to admit to intentional second-degree murder, reflecting his primary role in this horrific incident."
In exchange for providing evidence and testifying against Burris, Boyd will avoid serving hard prison time for his role in the fatal incident. Instead, he will serve a sentence at the Red Wing juvenile justice facility, take part in intensive therapy to address what prosecutors call a "significant trauma history," and receive stayed sentences at both the juvenile and adult levels of 86 and 110 months.
In total, Boyd will be under state supervision until he is 26 years old. If he does not comply with terms of probation, he could serve time in adult prison.
In a news release, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office says while Boyd's participation in the deadly shooting "demands accountability," they say he played a significantly lesser role in the incident than his co-defendant.
According to the charges filed against the teens, witnesses say that Burris and Boyd "hit" on two people at the backyard concert, attended mostly by members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Witnesses told investigators that when their advances were turned down, the defendants made "insensitive" comments and derogatory epithets about the sexual orientation of people at the concert. Shots were fired soon after.
