MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – One of two 15-year-old boys accused of being involved in the brutal beating of a St. Paul man on the city’s east side last August will stand trial as an adult.
Charles Kenneth Redding will appear in a Ramsey County courtroom Thursday as he faces charges in the Aug. 4, 2013 assault of Ray Widstrand. Redding has been charged with first-degree assault, two counts of crime for the benefit of a gang and first-degree aggravated robbery in connection with the incident.
The other 15-year-old suspect in the case, who has not been named, was sentenced last October to nearly two years in a juvenile facility after admitting to his involvement in the incident.
Cindarion De’Angelo Butler, of St. Paul, was 16 at the time of the beating, but he was tried as an adult back in January. The jury found him guilty of first-degree assault and first-degree aggravated robbery.
On the night of the beating, St. Paul Police officers say they found Widstrand lying on Payne Avenue with blood coming from his nose and mouth. Witnesses said that members of the East Side Boys gang attacked Widstrand when he walked by a fight taking place between some women.
Witnesses of the incident identified Redding as the suspect who first struck Widstrand. He told police he was at the scene when the assault happened but denied having anything to do with the fights, according to the charges. Redding was arrested three days after the incident.
Widstrand’s injuries were so severe that they required facial reconstructive surgery.
If convicted on all counts, Redding faces more than 80 years in prison and $70,000 in fines.
