Teen acquitted in Ray Widstrand attack violated probation in different case

January 16, 2014 at 3:30AM
At the Courage Center in Golden Valley, Ray Widstrand, right, pictured October 8, 2013, is recovering from a near fatal attack in August, which landed him in intensive care. Part of his cranium was removed to alleviate pressure from swelling. His sister, Alice, visits him almost daily.
Ray Widstrand, right, in October, with his sister Alice (Colleen Kelly — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The St. Paul teenager acquitted recently in a brutal attack this summer admitted in court Friday that he violated probation in an unrelated juvenile case in which he threatened to rape another teen.

Issac O. Maiden, 19, admitted in Ramsey County District Court that he used marijuana and associated with gang members, according to the county attorney's office. The proceedings took place in juvenile court.

The probation violation hearing stemmed from a terroristic threats conviction against Maiden in Faribault County. The case was transferred to Ramsey County.

According to charges filed in 2012: Maiden threatened a boy at Elmore Academy, a treatment facility for teens that is licensed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

"On [the teen's] first day there, he was told by Issac Maiden that [he] better sleep with one eye open," the charges said. "[The teen] reported that the next day … Maiden told [him] that Maiden was going [to] rape him or that [he] would have to perform oral sex on Maiden."

One witness overheard the threats, and two other residents saw some "verbal exchanges." All three thought the teen who was targeted appeared "badly frightened," the complaint said. The teen was moved to a different dorm.

The Ramsey County attorney's office sought to have Maiden detained for four to six months at a juvenile facility in Red Wing for violating his probation, but a judge released him on supervision until he turns 21, according to county attorney spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein.

Earlier this month, Maiden was tried and acquitted in an August attack on Ray Widstrand, 27, in St. Paul. Widstrand was so badly injured it was initially unclear whether he would survive. He is undergoing rehabilitation, and struggles to speak and walk.

One juvenile pleaded guilty in the attack on Widstrand, which occurred when he stopped to help a girl on the ground. Three other teens are charged in the case.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708

Twitter: @ChaoStrib

Issac Maiden
Issac Maiden (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Chao Xiong

Reporter

Chao Xiong was the Hennepin County Courts reporter for the Star Tribune. He previously covered Ramsey County courts, St. Paul police, the state of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis.

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