Alfredo Solis acquitted of murder, found guilty of assault in fatal shooting of Jahmari Rice outside Richfield school
RICHFIELD, Minn. -- Alfredo Solis was found guilty of assault and acquitted of all other counts - including second-degree murder - in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jahmari Rice outside of a Richfield school in February.
Rice, who had just transferred to South Education Center in Richfield the week prior, was shot along with two others, who ultimately survived. Rice was found lying on the sidewalk outside the school and was taken to Hennepin Healthcare, where he was pronounced dead.
Solis, 20, and 18-year-old Fernando Alvarez were charged a few days later with three counts of second-degree murder with intent.
Witnesses told police that several students appeared to run up to Solis and Alvarez "like they were getting ready to fight." That's when either Solis or Alvarez – the charges don't specify – pulled out a gun and began firing. Witnesses reported that two or three shots were initially fired, and another two or three shots were fired after they entered a vehicle and as the victims were running away.
Solis started his jury trial at the end of November, where prosecutors added three counts of second-degree murder without intent. The jury started deliberations on Wednesday and had decided on their verdict by the evening.
Emotions ran high for Rice's family and friends Wednesday at the Hennepin County Government Center. Rice's father, Cortez Rice, was visibly shaken by the verdict.
"The system is showing us it's designed to do exactly what it's supposed to do, and it's to fail us. We just got failed. This is blasphemy … this is nuts," Rice said. "We had all the evidence. We had video footage. We had recordings of the shots and everything like that. The police that responded, body camera footages. There was no way that we should have lost that. There was no way that my son should not have justice today."
Rice's father says that despite Wednesday's outcome, he still hopes the next trial will bring some justice for his son.
"We're just gonna continue to pray. We're gonna continue to pray that possibly we get another jury that's gonna do the right thing, because this one clearly didn't do it. They failed us," he said.
The school district created a safety response team in response to this shooting. The district added metal detectors, security cameras, and additional staff training, among other measures.
Rice played football at Richfield High School, and his coach said he had a lot of passion, a lot of heart, was fierce about his friends and had a big smile.
Alvarez's trial is pushed back until Feb. 13.