2 plead guilty in assault on girl's dad at Valleyfair

Star Tribune

Last update: April 14, 2009 - 11:38 PM

Guilty pleas have been entered by two of the six defendants accused of beating a suburban father at Valleyfair after he tried to defend his teenage daughter last summer.

Darris D. Evans, 21, of Brooklyn Park, and DeVondre Q. Evans-Lewis, 19, of Columbia Heights, admitted to third-degree assault Monday in Scott County District Court. That is a reduction in the charge against each from first-degree assault, a court official said this morning.

Trials remain on track for the other four defendants. They also were offered plea deals.

The other suspects are Derry Evans, 20, Minneapolis; Terry L. Arnold, 23, Brooklyn Park; Andrew D. Shannon, 20, of Minneapolis, and Anthony C. Gildersleeve, 20, of Edina. All are charged with first-degree felony assault in the beating. A 15-year-old was also charged.

The men are accused of taking turns stomping on and kicking the head of a 41-year-old Apple Valley man just after midnight July 4. He was knocked unconscious as his wife and three daughters tried to help him.

Prosecutors say the fight began when one of the suspects harassed and assaulted the victim's 15-year-old daughter. The man was attacked as he stepped in to intervene.

PAUL WALSH