Teen acquitted in near-fatal beating of man

Published 5:10 pm Saturday, November 9, 2013

ST. PAUL — Jurors on Friday acquitted a 19-year-old man in the near-fatal beating of a St. Paul man this summer.

The Ramsey County jury acquitted Issac Oneal Maiden on all four counts he faced in the gang beating that nearly killed 27-year-old Ray Widstrand.

After the verdict, Judge Salvador Rosas told Maiden, “You dodged one here.”

Email newsletter signup

“I would suggest you think about what you’ve been doing,” Rosas told Maiden. If Maiden doesn’t change his behavior and associates, the judge said, “I have no doubt you’ll be back.”

Prosecutors argued that credible witnesses identified Maiden as one of the attackers. Maiden’s attorney said his client had nothing to do with the beating.