On a warm evening on June 5, 2021, 14-year-old Demaris Mar Mar Hobbs-Ekdahl was at a graduation party in Woodbury, Minnesota, when a confrontation set in motion a tragic chain of events. The young man, who had recently completed his freshman year at Tartan Senior High School, found himself and his older brother in a tense situation when a group of individuals, including Jaden Townsend, Enrique Davila, and Xavier Hudson, confronted them with guns.
Feeling threatened, Demaris and his group decided to leave the party on the 6100 block of Edgewood Avenue.
Seeking help, Demaris called his stepfather, 35-year-old Keith Dawson. Dawson met with his stepson and his friends nearby before they all decided to return to the party to confront the other group. Dawson drove his SUV, with Demaris and others following behind in a separate vehicle. Upon their return, Dawson fired shots from his vehicle, later telling investigators he only intended to scare the other group. This action was met with a hail of return fire.
As the two groups exchanged gunfire, the individuals who had initially confronted the boys, including Davila and Hudson, fired approximately 40 shots. One of these bullets penetrated the car Demaris was in, striking him in the back. He was rushed to Regions Hospital in St. Paul but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The bullet that killed him was believed to have been fired from a gun held by Enrique Davila.
In the aftermath, several individuals faced legal consequences for their roles in the fatal shooting. Keith Dawson, the stepfather, was charged just days after the incident with offenses including drive-by shooting and illegal possession of a firearm. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison. The investigation led to the arrests of the individuals who returned fire. Jaden Townsend, 19 at the time, turned himself in and eventually pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree assault, receiving a three-year prison sentence. Enrique Davila, initially sought by police, was arrested and charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder; he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Xavier Le'Drew Hudson, who was 17 at the time of the shooting but certified to stand trial as an adult, was found guilty by a jury on ten counts, including aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and was sentenced to more than 37 years in prison. A 17-year-old juvenile was also taken into custody in connection with the shooting.
