MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 35-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to killing a man with a shotgun 15 years ago in Minneapolis, authorities said.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said William Chaboyea, of Bloomington, entered his guilty plea on the day his trial was set to begin.
In May, police arrested Chaboyea for the 1996 murder of Michael Baldeagle. Chaboyea was then charged with second-degree murder, crime committed for the benefit of a gang and intentional second-degree murder.
As part of his plea agreement, Chaboyea pleaded guilty to intentional second-degree murder so that the charge of murder for the benefit of a gang could be dropped.
The agreement calls for a sentence of 20 years in prison. Chaboyea is set to be sentenced on Feb. 13, authorities said.
A criminal complaint says that Baldeagle was in the vicinity of the 1700 block of 27th Street East in Minneapolis when he and other witnesses saw a group of men in an alley. His friends pleaded with him not to go into the alley, but he did and flashed a gang sign at the group.
The men, according to the complaint, were members of the Native Mob Gang. After a brief argument with the men, Chaboyea pulled out a shotgun and killed Baldeagle, according to the complaint.
In court Monday, Chaboyea told the court that he shot Baldeagle as he was running away. He also admitted to other details of the complaint, authorities said.
