Teen Charged In Woodbury Grad Party Shooting To Be Tried As An Adult

WOODBURY, MN — An Oakdale teen facing charges in connection with a fatal shooting last year at a graduation party in Woodbury can be tried as an adult, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled last month, as first reported by the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.

Xavier Hudson was two months from his 18th birthday in June 2021, when police say he was involved in a shootout that killed 14-year-old Demaris Hobbs-Ekdahl, of Maplewood.

Demaris was shot around 10:45 p.m. June 5, 2021, near a graduation party in the 6100 block of Edgewood Avenue in Woodbury, police have said. He died less than half an hour later after being taken to Regions Hospital.

Demaris had recently completed ninth grade at Tartan Senior High School in Oakdale when he was killed.

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Hudson was charged last year as a juvenile with aiding and abetting second-degree murder; aiding and abetting second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon; and being an ineligible person in possession of a firearm.

The state’s motion to prosecute Hudson as an adult was granted by a juvenile court in October 2021, prompting an appeal by Hudson, according to the Minnesota Court of Appeals' opinion.

Judges on the Court of Appeals in May affirmed the lower court’s decision to allow Hudson to face charges as an adult, ruling “the juvenile court did not clearly err in its findings.”

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Enrique Davila, 24, and Jaden Townsend, 19 — both of St. Paul — also face charges in connection with Demaris’ death last June.

Townsend, who turned himself into police less than two weeks after the shooting, was charged with second-degree murder and four counts of aiding and abetting assault.

Davila was charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and four counts of aiding and abetting an assault after his arrest in late September 2021, Woodbury police said.

A witness told Woodbury police that Davila, Townsend and Hudson approached Demaris and a group as they were leaving a graduation party June 5, 2021. The witness reported Davila pulled a gun out of his waistband and threatened the group, police said.

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Demaris then called his stepfather, Keith Dawson, and met him at a nearby car dealership before they drove back to the graduation party in separate cars, police said.

Dawson, of St. Paul, is accused of shooting from his SUV toward Davila, Townsend and Hudson, who police say then fired five shots at Dawson’s and Demaris’ vehicles, hitting Demaris in the back.

Police said Hudson also fired 14 "wild" shots to "demonstrate superior firepower." About 40 bullet casings were found at the scene of the shooting, police said.

Dawson was charged several days after Demaris' death with drive-by shooting, illegal possession of a firearm and assault.

Davila has a court hearing Friday, while Townsend's trial is scheduled to start June 21, KSTP reports. Dawson's trial is expected to start in late November, the report states.

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