Man Pleads Guilty In Fatal Duluth Assault
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A man who fatally assaulted a 70-year-old during a home invasion in the Park Point neighborhood of Duluth has pleaded guilty to second-degree unintentional murder.
Authorities say Darrel Mayhew, 31, admitted to a judge that he hit Larry Watczak, 70, in the head with a glass bottle in January before covering him in a blanket and stealing his tablet and other items. Watczak died 10 days later from his injuries.
Mayhew entered his plea Thursday. As part of the plea deal, Mayhew agreed to the St. Louis County Attorney's Office recommendation of an upward departure to 20 years in prison. The presumptive Minnesota guidelines sentence is 15 years.
He sentencing is scheduled for June 17.
