MINNEAPOLIS — A 19-year-old Minneapolis man will spend more than 23 years in prison after being sentenced for the murder of a teen outside a Richfield alternative school.
Fernando Valdez-Alvarez earlier pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree unintentional murder and first-degree assault in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jahmari Rice and the wounding of another teen outside the South Education Center in February of 2022.
A sentencing agreement made at the time of the pleas called for Valdez-Alvarez to receive 180 months in prison on the murder conviction and a consecutive 103 months for also pleading guilty to first-degree assault. Consecutive means the second sentence does not begin until the first is expired.
Before confirming the sentence, Hennepin County Circuit Court Judge Paul Scoggin acknowledged the displeasure Rice's family has expressed at the length of Valdez-Alvarez's sentence for murder. "The intense pain and anger that Mr. Rice's family feels today is completely justified... but there are risks in taking things to trial," Scoggin reflected, referring to the fact that a jury may not have found the defendant guilty.
Along with the 23 1/2 year prison sentence, of which Valdez-Alvarez will serve approximately 16 years, Judge Scoggin ordered restitution of more than $65,000, mandated that the defendant never possess firearms or explosives and ordered him to provide a DNA sample.
Before the sentence was levied members of Jahmari's family stood before the court and talked about the impact the teen's murder has had on their lives. His father Cortez Rice alternated between sadness and anger in describing how Jahmari's death has impacted him both mentally and physically.
"It has affected my ability to cope with my everyday life. I hope you rot in hell and are haunted by your sins," Cortez Rice said, addressing Valdez-Alvarez. "Some days I'm in depression mode, and don't want to do anything or talk to anyone, which makes it hard for my family."
"I've lost interest in working, nothing seems the same anymore, I'm just numb to life," Rice said, his voice breaking.
Valdez-Alvarez declined to speak, but his attorney James Horvath described the events of Feb. 1, 2022 in an effort to shed a different light on the defendant. He described the education center as an unsafe place where students brought weapons to school and violence was a regular occurrence. Horvath told the court that on the day of the shooting Jahmari Rice was with two other students who followed Alvarez and his best friend Alfredo Solis to their car and attacked Solis.
Horvath insisted Valdez-Alvarez didn't know what kind of danger they were in and made a "terrible decision" to retrieve a gun from the car and open fire.
"Two wrongs do not make a right. At 19 years old, he has agreed to lose the next 23 years of his life. He is taking responsibility for his actions on Feb. 1, 2022."
Alvarez's attorney noted that his client, 18 years old at the time of the shooting, has since graduated from high school while behind bars and is acquiring skills to help him run a construction business when he gets out.
"He is a human being, and he will get to live the rest of his life once this sentence is served."
Prosecutors objected to the defense teams' characterization of the facts, and Jahmari Rice's family loudly chastised both Horvath and the defendant during the statement.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement following the sentencing, just one day after Cody Forenkham was sentenced to 38 1/2 years for the murder of 15-year-old Deshaun Hill, Jr.
"These two kids had full lives ahead of them but that promise was destroyed in brief flashes of anger," Moriarty said. "I’m hopeful today’s sentencing brings some measure of closure for Jahmari Rice’s family. Our community must do more to stop this violence. We will continue to do our part by focusing resources on aggressive prosecution of these cases."
Alvarez's co-defendant, 20-year-old Alfredo Rosario Solis, was found not guilty on five charges during his trial in December. Solis was found guilty of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
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