MONTEVIDEO, Minn. -- Devin Hexum, 21, of Balaton, admitted Tuesday at his sentencing that he intended to kill Daniel Scheff when he fired two shots at close range from a handgun into his victim's left arm and abdomen on a gravel road where he left him last July.
Hexum pleaded guilty to a felony charge of second-degree attempted murder before District Judge Thomas Van Hon in Montevideo. As part of the agreement, Hexum is expected to be sentenced March 19 to almost 13 years in prison.
Hexum offered no explanation in his testimony as to why he shot the 30-year-old Scheff and left him along the gravel road south of Granite Falls the night of July 18. Hexum and his brother Derek, now 20, also of Balaton, had met Scheff for the first time that evening while they drove around Granite Falls and invited Scheff to ride out to a casino resort with them. When the pickup developed mechanical trouble, they started walking and shot and left Scheff along the road. Motorists later spotted Scheff and contacted help. Now age 31, Scheff still faces a long road to recovery, said the prosecutors in the case.
