Guilty plea in brutal Burnsville stabbing

Paul Traub of Burnsville awoke at 4 a.m. to a noise in his Burnsville townhouse, and he saw his lights go on and off. Strangers were in his house after crashing a vehicle outside, and now, they wanted his.

And they wanted him dead, court papers say.

"I hope you know you are going to die," one of the intruders soon told Traub. "I just stabbed you in the head."

But Traub, 53, survived being stabbed and cut 21 times and left for dead in his four-plex. Intruders set eight fires and left the gas-stove burners on and clicking, ready to ignite, as Traub played dead. Moments later, he walked through a wall of fire to get help.

Monday, one of those assailants pleaded guilty to his role in the attack, in which Traub was targeted because he had left his garage door open overnight, with his car inside.

Shaquen P. Whitfield, 20, and two other men had been charged in connection with the May 11, 2008, home invasion and attack on Traub, who has recovered. Whitfield was the first to enter a plea.

He pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder, first-degree arson and first-degree burglary. Counts of attempted second-degree murder and auto theft were dismissed. Dakota County Judge Michael Sovis set sentencing for Sept. 14.

Facing trial are co-defendants Lance D. Wilkins, 21, of Prior Lake, and Irvin S. Cook, 19, no known address.

Traub was stabbed 16 times in the back, three times in the head and once in the ear. His face was slashed. He still has a piece of metal in his skull.

From the start, Traub would not let the attack define him.

"My faith got me through it," Traub told the Star Tribune.

Court papers and Traub say the case unfolded this way:

Traub was sleeping in his master bedroom when awakened by noise. He got up to find a man in the bathroom. The stranger said he was leaving. But as Traub walked him toward the front door, the burglar yelled to an accomplice elsewhere in the house.

Traub headed back to his bedroom to call 911, the young robber trailing him. Traub felt slams to his head and blood run, then saw an older assailant. He told Traub he had been stabbed and would die.

The two robbers asked Traub for his car keys, which he handed over. They demanded valuables, and when he said he didn't have any, the older man said to give him valuables or he would be killed. The older man then turned to the younger robber and said:

"I did my job, now you have to do your job. You have to kill him."

Traub told police that he felt as though he was being punched in the back, then realized he was being stabbed.

"We are going to kill you!" one of the robbers repeated.

As Traub played dead, they threw stinging liquid on him. They also doused his face with mouthwash to see if he was still alive. On their third trip into his room, they sprayed Traub with liquid, then set the room afire.

Traub tried to get out, but they told him to get back down or they would kill him.

Traub heard his car being driven away. His bed and room were burning, and he bolted through the flames to get help from a neighbor. Police arrived to find him bleeding heavily.

Firefighters found eight fires set throughout the home, including a three-foot blaze in the closet of the master bedroom. They heard clicking and found all burners on the gas stove turned on, ready to explode.

"It was an extremely violent crime that left a homeowner practically dead," County Attorney James Backstrom said. "He was fortunate to have survived."

Not far from Traub's home, police found a rolled-over sport-utility vehicle, which the robbers had been using just before they entered Traub's home.

They later found Traub's stolen car parked outside a Burnsville motel.

At a Shakopee pawnshop, police recovered a 1987 silver dollar that Whitfield pawned. It's believed to be stolen from Traub. And when police arrested Cook later, they found two bottles of cologne believed to have been stolen from Traub.

Whitfield said the other two carried out the stabbings and arson, while he waited outside. Whitfield remains in the Scott County jail on an unrelated case. He'll be brought to Dakota County for his sentencing.

"We'll be seeking a prison term -- a lengthy prison term," Backstrom said.

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017