Derrick Blanton Gets 8 Years In Prison For Fatally Shooting Father Of Girlfriend's Child

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison in the shooting death of his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend.

The 39-year-old was sentenced Thursday in the August 2019 shooting death of 29-year-old Isiah Smith, which happened in front of Blanton's then 4-year-old son in Stevens Square.

A jury found Blanton guilty of first-degree manslaughter in December, though he was facing second-degree murder charges. The jury cited a number of contributing factors, including that Blanton was "acting in the heat of passion."

Blanton and his son were visiting his girlfriend at her apartment on the 1900 block of 1st Avenue South. She left the apartment at one point to drop her child off at her mother's residence, and Smith -- the father of her child -- arrived unannounced soon after.

Blanton told investigators he has problems with Smith, and they got in to a physical altercation, which ultimately led to him shooting Smith five times -- including once in the back. Blanton, his son and a friend then fled the building and sped away in a black Dodge Charger. He later threw the gun out of his car window in south Minneapolis.

The girlfriend told investigators she arrived back at the apartment about 15 minutes after leaving, where she found Smith lying face down in a pool of blood. She also told police Blanton had recently been feuding with Smith, who regularly made unannounced visits to her apartment.

Blanton is still set to go to trial in October in another case. He's accused of shooting and killing a man in July 2019m, and is charged with second-degree murder in that case.