Crime & Safety
Bakdash Conviction Upheld on Appeal
An appeals court has upheld the conviction of Timothy Bakdash, the Roseville-native who struck and killed University of Minnesota senior Benjamin Van Handel with his car last year.
An appeals court has upheld the conviction of Timothy Bakdash, the Roseville-native who struck and killed University of Minnesota senior Benjamin Van Handel with his car last year, according to an article in the Pioneer Press.
From the Pioneer Press article:
Lawyers for Bakdash had sought to overturn his 2012 conviction in the death of University of Minnesota senior Benjamin Van Handel of Appleton, Wis., claiming that he had no intent to kill the man as he walked down a Minneapolis sidewalk.
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But the Minnesota Court of Appeals, ruling Monday, May 20, said that as long as Bakdash intended to kill somebody -- and testimony indicated he did -- then he was guilty of murder for killing an "unintended" victim. The court applied the legal doctrine of transferred intent.
On April 16, Bakdash was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder.
