MINNEAPOLIS — Nicholas Kraus, who was charged with murder after he drove his car into a crowd of protestors in Minneapolis in June 2021 and killed one person, changed his plea from "not guilty" to "guilty" Monday afternoon.
Last year, Kraus was charged with intentional second-degree murder without intent and two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon after he hit and killed 31-year-old activist Deona Marie as she protested the police shooting of Winston Smith.
In Oct. 2021, Kraus pleaded "not guilty" to the three counts. Court records show on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, Kraus pleaded guilty to unintentional second-degree murder and one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The second assault charge was dropped in the deal, but Kraus will still have to pay restitution for it.
Mandy Schubering said Marie was once her roommate and best friend.
"I'm pissed off that it got dropped to without intent," Schubering said, "like that really pisses me off because it clearly was."
Schubering attended Monday's plea hearing with Courteney Ross, George Floyd's fiancé.
"It's so painful to see that they're still living their lives, though they took your loved one," Ross said. "We're sitting here living with this pain every single day."
Kraus could face at least 17.5 years in prison for the murder charge. How long he'll serve for the assault charge will be determined at sentencing, but it would run concurrently. Sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022 at 9 a.m.
Protests continued for three nights following Smith's death and multiple people were arrested. Marie was among a group of people protesting Smith's death near West Lake Street and Girard Avenue South in the city's Uptown neighborhood on June 13, 2021 when police said Kraus drove into a crowd, killing Marie and injuring three others.
Smith was fatally shot by two members of a U.S. Marshals task force on June 3, 2021. Officials said Smith fired a gun as they attempted to take him into custody for a felony firearms violation. The Crow Wing County Attorney's Office later declined to recommend charges be brought against the U.S. Marshals officers involved in the shooting.
This is a developing story. KARE 11 will provide more details as new information becomes available.
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