A 23-year-old felon has admitted to unleashing gunfire at a sport-utility vehicle with a young child inside as it left a Lake Street fast-food restaurant last summer.
Clarence J. Dickens Jr., of Minneapolis, pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted murder and was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court to 10 years in prison, the county attorney's office announced. Dickens must serve two-thirds of that time behind bars before he is eligible for supervised release.
"We cannot have persons illegally carrying guns and firing wildly on our city streets," County Attorney Mike Freeman said. "It was only dumb luck that no one was injured, and Mr. Dickens needs to pay the price for the terror he caused to so many people that day."
Dickens entered his plea just as his trial was about to begin. His sentencing immediately followed. He has yet to explain the motive for the Aug. 21 shooting.
Dickens' criminal record in Minnesota includes a conviction for an assault in Minneapolis in 2010, when he was 18. He served 20 months in prison. In that case, a charge of drive-by shooting was dismissed. The conviction made it illegal for him to possess a firearm.
According to the criminal complaint:
Dickens walked up to a black SUV shortly before 5 p.m. as it was leaving the McDonald's lot on E. Lake Street near 2nd Avenue S. and fired numerous shots at the passenger side of the vehicle. After the first shot, a front-seat passenger climbed into the back to protect a young child.
One of the bullets struck a passing vehicle with a teenager and parents inside.
Officers in an unmarked police car saw Dickens run and jump into a car that drove away. With officers in numerous squad cars in pursuit, Dickens jumped out of the car and fled on foot but was quickly caught near Portland Avenue and 28th Street. His handgun was recovered on the ground.
Dennis Mobley, 25, of Minneapolis, the driver of the getaway car, was arrested nearby and has pleaded guilty to aiding an offender. He has yet to be sentenced. Mobley's criminal history in Minnesota includes convictions for burglary, aggravated robbery and illicit drug possession.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
