Man Pleads Guilty To Role In Teen's Death After Underage Drinking Party

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 19-year-old man from western Minnesota pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges in the March 9 death of a teenager found in the cold after an underage drinking party.

Erik Patrick Hastad pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor social host ordinance and gross misdemeanor contributing to delinquency of a child in in the death of Michael Anyasike.

The Lac qui Parle Sheriff's Office was called to an underage party with alcohol at about 12:30 a.m. March 9 on the 2700 block of 280th Street in rural Madison, Minn. When authorities arrived, about 20 vehicles had been parked on a farm site where a party was taking place. Many fled the scene, and Anyasike was one of them.

He went missing and was found 12 hours later about a mile away from where the party happened. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, and it was ruled he died of hypothermia. Anyasike was a standout football player at Dawson-Boyd High School and was planning on attending St. John's University.

Hastad later turned himself into police. According to sentencing guidelines, Hastad faces a maximum penalty of more than a year in jail and $4,000 in fines. His sentencing date has not been set.

His father, 59-year-old Gary Hastad, was also charged in the case with violating the social host ordinance. That case remains under investigation.