Crime & Safety
Valdez-Alvarez Sentenced In Killing Of 15-Year-Old Richfield Student
Fernando Valdez-Alvarez shot and killed 15-year-old classmate Jahmari Rice in Richfield last year, prosecutors said.
RICHFIELD, MN — Nineteen-year-old Fernando Valdez-Alvarez was sentenced Wednesday to 283 months of prison, or more than 23 years, in the killing of 15-year-old classmate Jahmari Rice in Richfield.
Valdez-Alvarez, of Minneapolis, pled guilty last month to second-degree unintentional murder and first-degree assault in the fatal shooting of Rice, which happened outside the South Education Center on Feb. 1, 2022.
"In a one week period last February two families each faced their worst nightmare, the tragic loss of their 15-year-old sons to senseless gun violence," said Hennepin County Attorney Mary F. Moriarty in a statement, referencing the killing of both Rice and Deshaun Hill, Jr.
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A 30-year-old man was sentenced in Hill's killing on Tuesday.
"These two kids had full lives ahead of them but that promise was destroyed in brief flashes of anger. I’m hopeful today’s sentencing brings some measure of closure for Jahmari Rice’s family. Our community must do more to stop this violence. We will continue to do our part by focusing resources on aggressive prosecution of these cases."
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In early December, Valdez-Alvarez's co-defendant — 20-year-old Alfredo Rosario Solis — was sentenced to three years in prison.
Feb. 1, 2022 shooting
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.
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