A Burnsville teenager was sentenced to a juvenile facility and received a suspended adult prison sentence after pleading guilty to hitting and killing two people while street racing his sister in 2021.
Burnsville man receives juvenile sentence in double fatal car crash
The 19-year-old received a stayed adult jail sentence and will serve extended juvenile probation.
January 25, 2023 at 12:46AM
Leon Bond, now 19, was 17 when the car he was driving struck an SUV carrying two 22-year-olds on County Road 42 in Burnsville on April 4, 2021. He was charged with two counts of third-degree murder as a juvenile and pleaded guilty Jan. 12.
Bond's sentence includes probation until he turns 21, a "long-term" stay in the Red Wing juvenile facility and other conditions. His stayed, 25-year adult jail sentence will not be imposed unless he violates his extended juvenile probation.
The two who died in the crash were Dalton Lee Ford of Burnsville and Tayler Nicole Garza of Woodbury.
According to the criminal complaint against Bond's 21-year-old sister, Camille Dennis-Bond:
Bond was traveling east that morning between Burnsville Parkway and Newton Avenue in a white Chrysler 200. He was racing side by side with a Chevy Malibu driven by Dennis-Bond.
Bond then T-boned Ford's Honda CR-V as it attempted to make a left turn to cross over to Newton Avenue, causing it to split in half. Ford and Garza died at the scene.
Bond and his twin sister, who was in the passenger seat of his car, were both injured and taken to the hospital. The twin's injuries included fractures, and she underwent surgeries and a six-week hospitalization.
Bond told law enforcement that he and his older sister were at a stoplight before the crash when he told her he wanted to see whose car could get to 50 mph the fastest. He added that he saw the Honda before it turned and that he accelerated in an effort to get around it but was unsuccessful.
A State Patrol analysis found Bond was traveling between 93 and 100 mph at the time of impact.
The Dakota County Attorney's Office sought to try Bond in adult court but was denied.
Bond was sentenced as an "extended jurisdiction juvenile," which is intended as a way for juveniles who commit violent crimes to avoid adult jail sentences. A recent Star Tribune analysis found that about half of the youths placed on extended probation since 2011 have had their probation revoked and adult criminal sentences imposed.
A jury found Dennis-Bond guilty on Dec. 14. She was convicted on two counts of third-degree murder, two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm, and one count of careless driving. She is set to be sentenced March 24.
