Teen receives stayed sentence after pleading guilty to role in fatal shooting of Champlin park student
A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced for his role in the shooting death of Champlin Park student Diamond Manly, according to Anoka County court records.
The boy, from Shoreview, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count each of aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery and aiding an offender. A third charge of aiding and abetting intentional second-degree murder was dropped as part of the plea deal.
According to court records filed Thursday, the boy was given a four-year sentence, which will be stayed for seven years. The sentencing order said he will be on supervised probation for those seven years, and will be on probation for another seven years after he serves his sentence.
Manly was found dead with a gunshot wound in a running car on a residential street in Ramsey, Minnesota, on the morning of March 2, charges said. Nearby residents stated they heard arguing in the area around 2 a.m., and video footage revealed what sounded like a gunshot and multiple raised voices in the area where Manly was found.
Investigators looked through Manly's phone and found he had been messaging another person on Snapchat about selling marijuana cartridges, according to court documents. Manly asked the person how many cartridges they were going to buy, and asked that person to send photos of the people he was going to meet. The messages also contained the address where Manly was found dead.
Police traced the number of the person Manly was messaging to a home in Ramsey less than a mile from where Manly was found. Investigators there learned from a resident of the home that the boy and three of his friends were there the night before Manly was found.
Charges said three of the boys, including the 17-year-old, went to meet Manly, who was inside his car while they were in the street. Manly had his driver's window partially rolled down when one of the boys asked to see the cartridges. That's when one of the boys said Manly tried to drive away, but Malik Perales pulled out a gun from his backpack and shot him through the open window. Perales allegedly then stole money and cartridges from Manly.
While searching the Shoreview home of the boy and Perales, police found marijuana cartridges matching those depicted in a Snapchat photo sent by Manly. They also allegedly found cash and cartridges containing both Manly's and Perales' DNA.
Perales and two other teens have been charged in the shooting.
Note: The above video first aired on March 3, 2025.