Emmanuel Aranda, 24, will plead guilty to the attempted murder of 5-year-old Landen at the Mall of America in exchange for a reduced sentence.
According to the probable cause document, Aranda said he was “looking for someone to kill, but it did not ‘work out.'” Landen was severely injured, however, and spent a significant amount of time in the intensive care unit of a Minnesota hospital. Thankfully, he has since stabilized.
Aranda was charged with first-degree premeditated attempt to commit murder. Prosecutors say the family supports the plea deal, which drops the “aggravated circumstances” portion of the charges, but will result in a 19-year prison sentence handed down on June 3.
“I think it’s a good result, and the family will then have a resolution to the case fairly quickly and they can focus where they are focused, which is the healing of their child,” Senior Assistant County Attorney Cheri Townsend said.
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