A teenager was handed a life prison sentence with the possibility of parole for shooting his ex-girlfriend with a stolen gun inside his van parked outside her Fridley home, then dumping her out of the vehicle and speeding away.
Fenan A. Uso, 19, was sentenced in Anoka County District Court after jurors convicted him last month of first- and second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the shooting on Dec. 21, 2023, of Jayden L. Kline, 18, in the 4500 block of NE. 3rd Street.
Court records initially showed that Judge Jenny Jasper had sentenced Uso to a 99-year term with supervised release possible after 65 years. That sentencing was amended to reflect that Minnesota law calls for Uso to be eligible for parole after 15 years because he was 17 years old at the time of the murder.
With credit for time in jail after his arrest, Uso’s first opportunity for parole will come in 13 years, said defense attorney Tom Beito. If paroled, Uso would be on supervised release for life, Beito said.
Kline graduated in June 2023 from Columbia Heights High School, where she competed on the swim and synchronized swimming teams and served as a wrestling team manager, according to her obituary.
“She loved playing with her family and friends — from camping with her aunties, uncles and cousins, to boating on the St. Croix, to organizing game nights, or just shopping, watching movies or sitting around a bonfire with her family and many friends,” the obituary continued. “In addition to people, Jayden loved the many animals in her life. She couldn’t resist welcoming a furry face (and sometimes even scaly or feathered one) into her family’s home.”
Fridley police were dispatched shortly before 4 p.m. regarding what initially was reported as a hit-and-run crash and saw Kline on the pavement on the street near her family’s driveway. Law enforcement soon determined Kline had been shot. Emergency medical responders took her to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
