Choncey Stewart looked down and spoke softly as he made the admissions.
“Yes,” he had a gun when he and three of his friends ran up on a group of teens — two males and two females — on Harriet Island around 11 p.m. June 5 of 2017, he told the Ramsey County Judge.
“Yes,” he showed them the bullets to prove it was real.
“Yes,” he made the boys strip down to their underwear and lie in the grass as he dragged their female companions by their hair one by one into their nearby car.
“Yes,” he raped the girls. One in the back seat of the vehicle, then the other in the front seat. Then the one in the backseat again.
“Yes,” two of his friends also sexually assaulted the girls.
“Yes,” they stole their cell phones and wallets.
“Yes,” he put the gun into one of the boys’ mouths.
“Yes,” he repeatedly threatened to shoot the others.
“Yes,” he knew his actions were particularly cruel.
“Yes” the 17-year-old replied, again and again, to the deluge of questions Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Jill Fedje asked during his plea hearing Tuesday morning.
The teen is the last to resolve his case over the incident, which another Ramsey County District Judge described as “evil.” His co-conspirators that night — Devontre Jordan Vann, 20, Deandray Artez Easley, 20, Vershone Jaquay Hodges, 21 — already were sentenced.
TEEN DEFENDANT COULD SEE NEARLY 50-YEAR SENTENCE
Stewart, who was 16 at the time, was the youngest of the perpetrators that night. As the gunman and apparent instigator, he faces the longest sentence.
The state intends to ask for a 47-year sentence in March. If granted, the teen would be nearly 50 by the time he’s eligible for release.
The term is longer than recommended by state sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors intend to argue it’s warranted due to the “particular cruelty” Stewart showed that night.
Three of the four teenage victims were minors. One of the girls was 18 at the time.
Previously, the longest sentence in the case went to Easley, the only one of the four to take his case to trial. Easley was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Hodges and Vann received 25 and 23 years, respectively, after reaching plea deals.
All four of them were charged with similar crimes, though Easley did not sexually assault either of the girls.
Stewart pleaded guilty Tuesday to all the charges facing him in the case, including two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of kidnapping and four counts of first-degree aggravated robbery.
If he hadn’t, prosecutors indicated they would file two more kidnapping counts as well as a charge of committing a crime for the benefit of a gang against him.
His attorney, Patrick McGee, noted Tuesday that he plans to argue for “significantly” less prison for his client than prosecutors are seeking.
APPEAL ATTEMPT DENIED
Part of the reason Stewart’s case was delayed is because the teen asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals to find that the lower court erred when it certified him to be tried as an adult.
Stewart’s criminal history as a juvenile was slim, his attorney argued, noting it included a citation for running away and fleeing police on foot, according to court filings. He also faced charges of aggravated robbery and second-degree assault.
His grandmother testified that her grandson struggled with behavioral issues stemming from engaging with “negative peers” at school, but said he had a supportive family, court documents say.
A doctor who conducts screenings of sex offenders also testified that Stewart, who he said struggled from anxiety and depression, would be best served in the juvenile system.
The higher court ruled against him, noting that it would be hard pressed to find “more heinous and serious crimes” to allege against Stewart, none of which could be explained by exposure to “negative peers.”
Some of the victims’ family members were present in court Tuesday but declined to comment.
‘DO YOU KNOW WHO THE (EXPLETIVE) I AM’
Both of the female victims spoke at Easley’s sentencing hearing, describing through tears how they struggle with ongoing panic attacks, severe depression, sleeplessness and hopelessness since the assault.
It happened days after they graduated from high school. They and their two male friends had stopped at McDonald’s and were eating outside their car on Harriet Island when one of the boys recognized Stewart from school and approached him and his friends to see if they would sell them marijuana.
Shortly after telling the boy he didn’t have any, Stewart, armed with a gun, and his friends “ran up on” the group of teens, he testified Tuesday.
“Do you know who the (expletive) I am,” Stewart acknowledged asking the teens at the time, before he and his friends directed the teens to hand over their belongings and lay in the grass.
When asked why he made the boys strip down to the underwear, Stewart replied:
“There was no purpose.”
Stewart and his friends had gone to the park to shoot a music video, according to court testimony from the others’ cases. The teens were high on Xanax and drunk on tequila at the time.
Stewart is scheduled to be sentenced March 15.