A St. Paul man pleaded guilty Friday to fatally shooting another man last year near Concordia University in St. Paul.
Ibrahim M. Abdullahi, 26, pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court to first-degree manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm. Abdullahi was originally charged with second-degree murder, but the count was reduced to manslaughter as part of a plea deal.
The deal also calls for Abdullahi to be sentenced concurrently to five years on each conviction.
Abdullahi admitted Friday that he shot Jeffery Earl Willingham, 24, about 10:54 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2014. Willingham died the next morning.
Abdullahi said his car broke down near a park and that he went up to a group of men looking for help but turned away when he didn't recognize any of them.
He told Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Kelly Olmstead that he was walking away from the group when he heard a few men running up behind him.
"They were totally fired up," Abdullahi said.
Abdullahi said he walked away with his hands in the air but eventually told them, in hopes they would back off, that he had a permit to carry a gun. But, he said, the men continued to follow him and he ran.
