Richfield School Shooting Trial: Alfredo Solis 'Not Guilty' Of Murder

MINNEAPOLIS — A Hennepin County jury agreed to not convict a 20-year-old Minneapolis man of murder in February's deadly shooting at a Richfield school.

However, they did convict Alfredo Rosario Solis on two counts of assault in the death of Jahmari Rice, who was a fellow student at the South Education Center.

Solis now faces up to 20 years of prison and a $30,000 fine. He faces a minimum of three years in prison.

Read the full verdict here. Solis will learn his prison sentence at a hearing scheduled for Jan. 3.

Rice's father was dismayed by the lack of a murder conviction for Solis.

"This is absurd. This is crazy," Cortez Rice told the Star Tribune. "You bring a gun to school, and your friend shoots the gun and murders somebody and then you shoot this murder weapon, and you don't get held accountable for this? This is sickening."

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Fernando Valdez-Alvarez still faces murder charges in Rice's death. His jury trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 2.

Richfield police said an "altercation" among five students who knew each other took place before the deadly shooting on the grounds of South Education Center.

On the afternoon of Feb. 1, Richfield police responded to shots fired near the school.

At the scene, police found Rice on the ground with gunshot wounds. He was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A second student — a 17-year-old boy — was also shot but survived. He was treated at the scene before undergoing surgery at HCMC. A third student was shot at but was not hit, police said.

Moments before the shooting, Solis and Valdez-Alvarez got into a fight with Rice and the two other students in the school parking lot, according to authorities.

The 17-year-old punched Solis, and in return Valdez-Alvarez fired numerous shots, according to the criminal complaint.

After firing off several rounds, Solis and Valdez-Alvarez ran to their SUV, police said. They continued to fire shots from the vehicle, the criminal complaint states.

Later that night, police searched Solis’ residence and found a 9mm Glock 45 handgun with an empty magazine inside and ammunition, investigators said.

Also read: Guns Drawn, Cops Went To Wrong Richfield School After Shooting