St. Paul employee sentenced to prison for shooting 16-year-old at recreation center
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A man has been sentenced to prison for shooting a teenager at a St. Paul recreation center while he was employed there last year.
As part of a plea deal, Exavir Binford, 27, was sentenced Friday to 10 years and five months in prison for first-degree assault with aggravating factors (child present during the crime). As part of his plea deal, an attempted murder charge was dismissed.
Binford shot a 16-year-old victim in the forehead at Jimmy Lee Recreation Center in Jan. 18, 2023.
According to the criminal complaint, there had been a fight between a number of girls at the rec center prior to the incident. The rec center was locked down during the fight, and some students were not allowed inside, but rather made to wait in the parking lot.
One girl who was inside the building was allowed to let her cousin inside, which the complaint says upset Binford because "another employee undermined his authority." Binford allegedly argued with that girl who let her cousin inside, and was heard repeatedly calling her a "b----."
The 16-year-old victim became involved, and Binford responded by showing the victim and another youth that he was carrying a gun. The two youths Binford allegedly showed his gun began punching Binford, beating him for what police said was "a couple of seconds."
It was after the fight ended that Binford allegedly backed up, pulled out the gun and shot one of the two in the head. The victim fell to the ground and Binford fled. Both of the youths were unarmed.
The victim who was shot suffered a traumatic brain injury.