The final defendant in the 2021 Woodbury graduation party shooting that killed a 14-year-old boy was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday, May 3, Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson announced.
In February, 26-year-old Enrique Lucio Davila pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in the 2021 shootout that killed 14-year-old Demaris Hobbs Ekdahl. As part of the guilty plea, Davila was sentenced to 240 months in prison with 946 days credit for time already served.
According to the criminal complaint, Davila was part of a group that used guns when confronting Demaris, his brother Davion, and others at a graduation party on the 6100 block of Edgewood Road in Woodbury around 10:30 p.m. June 5, 2021. Following the confrontation, Demaris, Davion, and their friends left the party and called their stepfather Keith Dawson. Dawson met his stepsons and their friends in Maplewood and encouraged them to return to the party with him to confront the group. Dawson drove his SUV, while the others followed closely behind in a car. When they arrived, Dawson fired several shots before driving away. The car occupied by Demaris and others continued to follow behind as 40 gunshots were fired in their direction by Davila and his co-defendant, Xavier Hudson. One of those bullets passed through the back of the car and struck Demaris, who was later pronounced dead from blood loss due to the gunshot wound.
“The shootout at a graduation party that resulted in the murder of 14-year-old Demaris shocked and saddened our community. Today’s sentencing marks the end of a three-year process to achieve justice for Damaris,” said Magnuson.
“I am grateful to the prosecution team and our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to hold all three codefendants accountable for their crimes. Although no amount of prison time can replace the tragic loss of life, it should be clear to all that we are fully committed to bringing criminals like Enrique Davila, Xavier Hudson, and Jaden Townsend to justice,” he added.
Both Hudson and Dawson are currently serving prison sentences for their roles in the shootout. Jaden Townsend pled guilty in June 2022 to aiding and abetting second-degree assault and received a three-year prison sentence.
In addition to his prison sentence, Davila was ordered to pay over $16,000 in restitution. He remains in custody at the Washington County Jail awaiting transfer to the Department of Corrections.
In 2021, Davila was charged with felony second degree aiding and abetting murder without intent while committing a felony, and four counts of felony second degree aiding and abetting – dangerous weapon.