ST. PAUL, Minn. — A man has been sentenced to prison for shooting a teenager at a St. Paul recreation center while he was employed there last year.
As part of a plea deal, Exavir Binford, 27, was sentenced Friday to 10 years and five months in prison for first-degree assault with aggravating factors (child present during the crime). As part of his plea deal, an attempted murder charge was dismissed .
Binford shot a 16-year-old victim in the forehead at Jimmy Lee Recreation Center in Jan. 18, 2023.
According to the criminal complaint, there had been a fight between a number of girls at the rec center prior to the incident. The rec center was locked down during the fight, and some students were not allowed inside, but rather made to wait in the parking lot.
One girl who was inside the building was allowed to let her cousin inside, which the complaint says upset Binford because “another employee undermined his authority.” Binford allegedly argued with that girl who let her cousin inside, and was heard repeatedly calling her a “b—-.”