HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn. — A Hennepin County judge has granted a temporary furlough to Cortez Rice so that he can attend his son's funeral Feb. 9.
Rice's son, 15-year-old Jahmari Rice, was shot and killed during an altercation outside the South Education Center in Richfield on Feb 1. Two suspects in that shooting were arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
According to Judge William Leary III's order, Rice will be furloughed from the Hennepin County Adult Correctional Facility from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Wednesday to attend a private family visitation at Hope Presbyterian Church and Jahmari's funeral service afterwards.
The funeral begins at 1 p.m. at Hope Presbyterian Church, located at 7132 S. Portland Ave. in Richfield.
Rice is currently jailed on a probation violation for leaving the state without permission in Dec. of 2021 and failing to report it to law enforcement within 72 hours, according to the court order. A probation-violation hearing is pending on that case.
A separate felony harassment charge against Rice was dismissed on Feb. 4 after Judge Leary determined allegations in a criminal complaint against Rice did not rise to the level of the statute, and granted a motion to dismiss the charge.
That now-dismissed charge against Rice stemmed from an incident Nov. 8, 2021, where Rice livestreamed a protest outside a condo he believed was the residence of Judge Regina Chu.
Judge Chu, who at the time was just days away from presiding over the trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, had recently issued a ruling prohibiting cameras in the courtroom. Rice and other activists were attempting to get Chu to change her mind.
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