St. Paul man sentenced for starting gun battle that killed his stepson at Woodbury grad party

A St. Paul man received a seven-year term Friday for his role in a June 2021 gunfight at a high school graduation party in Woodbury that led to his stepson's death.

Keith Dawson, 36, was sentenced in Washington County District Court after pleading guilty to drive-by shooting in connection with the chain of events that left 14-year-old Demaris Nathan Hobbs-Ekdahl dead.

With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Dawson can expect to serve four years and three months in prison and the balance on supervised release.

As part of his plea agreement, charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and illegal possession of a gun were dismissed.

Another person already has been sentenced to three years in connection with Hobbs-Ekdahl's death. Cases against two other are continuing.

According to the criminal complaint:

Hobbs-Ekdahl, of Maplewood, and his 16-year-old brother called Dawson to the graduation party because they "were having problems" with two people there.

When the stepfather arrived, he shot at the teens' adversaries. Gunfire was returned, and Hobbs-Ekdahl was struck in the back while in a car. Dawson drove the boy to Regions Hospital, where the Tartan High School student was declared dead.

Dawson told police that he shot six or seven times at three people he thought were "messing with" his kids.

Dawson, whose criminal history in Minnesota spans his entire life, was not allowed to possess a gun because of a first-degree burglary conviction in 2013.