St. Paul Man Stops Trial, Pleads Guilty To Robbinsdale Murder
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 33-year-old St. Paul man stopped his first-degree murder trial and pleaded guilty to a fatal Father's Day shooting in Robbinsdale in 2017, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
On Monday, Zittie Taylor pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Jody Tyron Fry of Chicago.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says two attorneys were halfway through presenting their case to the jury when Taylor agreed to plead guilty and avoid life without parole if the jury convicted him.
On June 19, 2017, officers responded to shots fired at a home on 42nd and Welcome Avenues North. When they arrived t, they found a car with several windows shattered and glass everywhere. Fry was in the driver's seat, dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
A witness said she heard Taylor talking to Fry before he walked to his car and grabbed a gun. He then walked over to the driver's side of Fry's car and shot him multiple times before fleeing in his car.
Taylor has refused to give an answer as to why he shot and killed Fry.
It's the second time Taylor pleaded guilty to the murder. He pleaded guilty and was set to receive 312 months in prison. But a pre-sentence investigation showed one of his felony convictions in Illinois wouldn't have qualitied as a felony in Minnesota, so he argued his sentence should be lower than 312 months.
On Monday, however, Taylor agreed to a sentence of 390 months in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 19. That's 32-and-a-half-years.