A year in jail is the sentence for a man who was the getaway driver for the gunman who killed a Rochester man outside an after-hours party in Minneapolis’ Loring Park more than two years ago.
Jal D. Wal, 26, of Apple Valley was sentenced Monday in Hennepin County District Court after pleading guilty to being an accomplice in connection with the shooting on Sept. 18, 2022, of Birahim B. Gildersleve, 28, of Rochester. The shooting took place outside a party at the Fade Barber Lounge.
Judge Jean Burdorf set aside a 15-year sentence, which would have put Wal in prison for roughly 10 years, and instead imposed a year in jail with credit for the roughly two months Wal was incarcerated after his arrest. Burdorf’s sentence also includes five years of supervised probation.
Hennepin County District Court spokeswoman Bonney Bowman said Tuesday the judge’s decision to pass on prison for Wal “was part of the plea deal agreed to by both the prosecution and defense.”
Burdorf explained in a court filing that she departed downward from state sentencing guidelines because Wal “provided substantial assistance to the prosecution in the case against his codefendant ... and the departure was part of the negotiated agreement. The defendant complied with all of his responsibilities under the agreement.”
The shooter, 28-year-old Mayan Deng Mayan, pleaded guilty in October to second-degree intentional murder. With credit for time in jail after his arrest, Mayan is expected to serve the first 22 years of his 34½-year term in prison and the balance on supervised release.
The criminal complaints against both men did not address a motive for the shooting. Police Sgt. Garrett Parten said in a statement that day that the killing followed “a verbal altercation.”
According to the complaints:
