Oakdale Man Convicted In Killing Of Boy, 14, At Woodbury Grad Party

WOODBURY, MN — A Washington County jury convicted an Oakdale man on Friday in a shootout that killed a 14-year-old boy — Demaris Hobbs Ekdahl — at a graduation party in Woodbury in June 2021.

The jury — made up of nine men and three women — found 20-year-old Xavier Le’Drew Hudson guilty of all ten charges filed against him, including aiding and abetting murder in the second degree.

Following a nine-day trial, the jury began deliberations Thursday afternoon. They reached a guilty verdict at about 1 p.m. on Friday, according to a news release.

"While no outcome can ever fully heal the wounds of such a heartbreaking incident, today's verdict brings some measure of justice to the grieving family of Demaris," said Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson in a statement.

"I am grateful to our prosecution team and to our law enforcement partners for their tireless dedication to this case, sending a strong message that senseless gun violence will not go unpunished."

Hudson remains in custody at the Washington County Jail. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

According to police, Hudson was part of a group that confronted Demaris, his brother Davion, and others with guns at a graduation party on the 6100 block of Edgewood Road around 10:30 p.m. on June 5, 2021.

After the confrontation, Demaris, Davion, and their friends left the party and called their stepfather Keith Dawson, who met his stepsons and their friends in Maplewood, according to authorities.

Dawson, 37, encouraged them to return to the party with him to confront the group, police said.

Dawson drove his SUV and others followed closely behind in a car. When they arrived, Dawson fired several shots and then drove away, according to authorities.

While Dawson and others drove away, 40 gunshots were fired in their direction by Hudson’s group, police said.

One of those bullets passed through the back of the car and struck Demaris, according to investigators. He was later pronounced dead at Regions Hospital due to blood loss from the gunshot wound.

In January, Dawson pled guilty to a drive-by shooting and is serving a seven-year prison sentence.

Hudson and two others — Enrique Davila and Jaden Townsend — were charged in the return fire that hit and killed Demaris:

Davila remains jailed in Washington County ahead of his jury trial, which is scheduled to begin on Dec. 11.

Townsend pled guilty in June 2022 to aiding and abetting second-degree assault and was sentenced to three years in prison.