Family and friends of Avontae King were back in the same Dakota County courtroom Thursday where the man who fatally shot him in 2023 was sentenced just a year ago.

This time it was for the shooter’s accomplice, Tre Manuel Iglesias, who in July pleaded guilty to his role in King’s killing outside his South St. Paul home — a murder that was over stolen marijuana and that one of King’s two young children witnessed through a window.

Andrew Michael Fisher and Tre Manuel Iglesias (Courtesy of the Dakota County sheriff’s office)

They spoke about how King was a loving father to his two sons and of the anguish and heartache they all experience every day because of Iglesias and Andrew Michael Fisher, who fired a lone shot, hitting the 26-year-old in the chest.

King may have taken his last breath, “but you didn’t take mine,” Bobbi Martin, King’s former girlfriend and the mother of his children, said in her victim impact statement. “And I’ll always be here speaking on his behalf for the person that’s no longer with us. A role I wish I didn’t have to take on.”

Judge Stacey Sorensen Green sentenced Iglesias to 12½ years in prison for second-degree aiding and abetting unintentional murder. Iglesias, 24, of St. Paul, will receive credit for 665 days already served in custody.

The sentence was the maximum allowed under Iglesias’ plea agreement with prosecution.

King went outside to go after Fisher, who had grabbed a bag of marijuana off King’s table and ran out of the home. Fisher turned around and fired once, hitting King in the chest. Fisher and Iglesias sped away.

Assistant Dakota County Attorney Caitlyn Prokopowicz said in court Thursday that the evidence showed Iglesias set up what was to be a marijuana purchase from King and that Iglesias brought a gun with him.

“Your Honor, Mr. Iglesias was the driver who drove away and left Mr. King to die in front of his 4-year-old child,” Prokopowicz said.

Fisher, 21, of Cambridge, Minn., was sentenced to just shy of 13 years in prison in August 2024 after pleading guilty to the same charge. He reached a plea deal after the prosecution offered the length of his prison term.

Neighbor witnessed shooting

According to court documents, Fisher and Iglesias went to King’s home in the 400 block of Third Avenue South on Nov. 24, 2023. After Fisher grabbed the marijuana, he and Iglesias ran. King was close behind. Fisher, while standing on the sidewalk, turned and shot King, and they fled the scene in Iglesias’ vehicle.

A neighbor told police it was just before 5 p.m. when he heard someone outside yell, “shoot him,” so he ran to his front window and saw three people moving quickly down the street. He said as the two men moved past a car parked in the street, one of them turned around and shot King, who fell to the ground and rolled in front of the car.

The neighbor said the two men, who were wearing dark-colored hoodies, got into an older, black Chevrolet sedan. He called 911 and provided aid to King, who was lying in the street. He was unarmed.

Avontae Troy King, 26, was fatally shot outside his South St. Paul home Nov. 24, 2023. (Courtesy of Bobbi Martin)

King did not have a pulse when police arrived on scene. He was pronounced dead at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Later that night, Iglesias reported to law enforcement that he was there during the shooting.

Iglesias told investigators that Fisher had been staying on his couch for the last week. He said Fisher asked him for a ride and that they went to the South St. Paul home. He said Fisher, while standing on the sidewalk near the grassy part of the curb, shot King. Iglesias said he drove the car from the scene, according to the charges.

‘Robbed’ of fatherhood

King was kind, loving, selfless and humble, said his mother and stepfather, Tanasha and Antone Beale, in a victim impact statement read in court by Prokopowicz.

King, the oldest brother to his three siblings, “was special and had a gift to make you feel good whenever he came around you. You just felt better because of his presence,” the statement said.

To Fisher and Inglesias, they said, ‘How dare you! How dare you take the life of our son from us! Who or what gave you the right to do so? Not only did you steal our son from us, you also stole a father from his children. … You ought to be ashamed of yourself for the crimes you committed.”

King’s aunt Monique King recalled how whenever he would call or see her, he would say, “Hello, my lady” and that it made her feel special.

“Then come to find out, he would address his mother and grandmother the same way,” his aunt said in her victim impact statement, which was read by the prosecutor. “But looking at it, it just showed his respect and character for the women he loved in his life and how he would make us feel so special and loved.”

Martin, the mother of his children, Giovanni and Leonato, now 5 and 3 years old, said he always wanted to have his own family. His kids “gave him hope and changed our lives around, she said. “He prayed for a reason to live, to be a dad, to feel joy. And now he was robbed of the true experience that comes with fatherhood.”

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An essential service is alive and well again in St. Paul after a summer cyberattack.

Public internet access has been restored at all St. Paul Public Library locations and recreation centers after the city initiated a full system shutdown in response to a July ransomware attack, the city announced Thursday.

“The restoration of our public internet network took an incredible amount of work and marks a huge milestone in our recovery,” said  Mayor Melvin Carter in a news release. “For so many of our residents, this connection is a lifeline to work, education, applying for jobs, and seeking opportunity.”

In late July, Carter declared a state of emergency following a days-long cyberattack on the city’s internet-based computer networks that led officials to call in the FBI and Gov. Tim Walz to enlist the Minnesota National Guard’s cybersecurity experts.

In response to the attack, city officials conducted a precautionary “complete network shutdown” of its Wi-Fi and internet-based systems, from public computer terminals within the St. Paul libraries to key networks at City Hall. The move disrupted city services, though officials said it was necessary to stop the hackers from doing more damage.

Strengthened safeguards

As of Thursday, city staff had restored certain systems, including public internet access, after they thoroughly tested, validated and secured them with modern safeguards.

“Reliable internet in our libraries has never been more important,” said Deputy Library Director Rebecca Ryan in the city’s statement.

Thousands of St. Paul residents rely on the city’s internet service to stay connected to family and seniors, to do research for schoolwork and to apply for jobs and complete training.

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In addition to restoring internet service, strengthened safeguards were put in place including: Segmented and secure public internet traffic that is entirely separated from the city’s internal networks, simpler access with fewer steps and logins and an open network that ensures residents seeking public access can safely access it.

“Whether it’s a teen connecting after school or a family using our recreation centers together, restoring public internet access ensures its available where community happens,” said Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez. “This is a critical step forward for equity across our neighborhoods.”

This week the city also launched its new permitting and licensing platform, PAULIE. Other restored systems include financial and payment platforms, geographic information systems, telephones and email, legislative and public meeting systems.

City officials said no ransom was ever paid to the cyberattackers, who posted some of the hacked data online. Investigators said the information was not sensitive.

Grammy-winning opera star Joyce DiDonato joins the Minnesota Orchestra for its opening weekend of performances, sharing her magnificent vocal span, warmth and agility in a performance of Hector Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été (Summer Nights). Conducted by Thomas Søndergård, the orchestra wows in its performance of the Suite from “Der Rosenkavalier” (The Knight of the Rose-Bearer) by Richard Strauss, Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to “Candide” and an homage to H.P. Lovecraft by Guillaume Connesson.

After upholding the tradition of performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” for opening weekend, the orchestra performs Bernstein’s feisty “Candide” overture, played at a fast and sprightly clip. With its swirling strings, cartoonish percussive rhythms, whimsical winds and a lush melody halfway through introduced by the viola section, it’s a work that’s at once peppy and magnetic.

Three-time Grammy Award winner Joyce DiDonato performs with the Minnesota Orchestra on Sept. 18-19, 2025 at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, conducted by music director Thomas Søndergård. (Salvá Lopez / Minnesota Orchestra)

The program devotes the rest of the first act to Berlioz’s “Summer Nights,” a work the French composer set to six poems by his friend and neighbor Théophile Gautier. Ranging in tone from sweet vignettes and aromatic memories to deep anguish and loss, the songs evoke sweeping emotion channeled by the poised and confident DiDonato.

DiDonato and Søndergård made quite the pair standing next to each other — the singer facing the audience and the conductor facing the orchestra, in tune with each other as they brought Berlioz’s expressive music to life.

As a performer, DiDonato is expressive with both her resonant, articulate voice and her face and physicality. Gautier’s poetry is rich in imagery, as in “Le spectre de la rose” (The Ghost of the Rose), sung from the perspective of a dead rose plucked by a beautiful girl, its scent remaining on her breast.

There’s intensity and fierce drama as well, especially in the lament, “Sur Les Lagunes” (On the Lagoons), about a seaman mourning his dead lover. Displaying quite a vocal range in the tune, DiDonato’s voice becomes a piercing wail on the “ah! sans amour!” lines, producing chills. The sadness continues after that in “Assenza” (Absence), with the orchestra’s accompaniment, led by Søndergård, finding subtle nuance and richness.

Addressing the audience after performing the song cycle, DiDonato, a Kansas City native who makes her debut with the Minnesota Orchestra this week, gushed about the full house for an 11 a.m. performance.

“I celebrate you for having a full hall, for having a world class orchestra that shows up and plays with all their heart, and who leads and shows how to face difficult times,” she said. “We come together, we search out harmony, and we look for that place here that feels like home.” She closed with a luxurious encore: “Oh Shenandoah.”

After intermission, the orchestra performs the first movement of “Les Cités de Lovecraft,” titled “Céléphaïs,” by French composer Guillaume Connesson (2017).

The work brings to life a city created by the horror and fantasy writer H.P. Lovecraft’s “Dream Cycle” series. Splashing with a startling sound as it opens, the piece bursts with potent vigor. The strings sound like sirens at times, and skipping rhythms, competing melodies and ethereal wanderings make up for the densely packed music.

Finally, the orchestra performs the Suite from Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier,” a terrific piece that continues the build from the previous numbers, displaying a rich and delightful sound. The suite gives an abbreviated musical narrative to the larger opera, telling the story of two older characters vying for the affection of two younger ones, who fall for each other. The music brings out the theatricality of the story— from  passionate love scenes, tender meet-cutes, to comic waltzes and a grand finish.

Altogether, the program made for an invigorating conclusion—story-filled, whimsical, anguished and exuberant.

If you go

What: Søndergård, DiDonato and Strauss

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis

Tickets: $55-$125; minnesotaorchestra.org

Capsule: Coloratura Mezzo-Soprano Joyce DiDonato joins Thomas Søndergård and the Minnesota Orchestra for a rousing season opener.

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The Gophers men’s basketball team have had two in-state commitments in the 2026 recruiting class, and on Thursday, the U landed a pledge in a big man from Congo by way of California.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound center Chadrack Mpoyi gave a verbal commitment to Minnesota after a campus visit to Minneapolis in late August. He is from Likasi, Democratic Republic of Congo and has been playing for Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine Calif.

“Next chapter,” Mpoyi wrote on social media.

Considered a bruising player, Mpoyi is the 151st ranked recruit in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports composite list. He had offers and visits to Oregon State, Utah State and California-Santa Barbara over the last month. He also has reported offers from California, Utah, Loyola Marymount and East Carolina.

“Chadrack has only scratched the surface of what he can become,” Crean head coach Austin Loeb said in a statement to OC Sports Zone. “His size, athleticism and natural gifts make him a special player, but what excites me most is his willingness to work, learn and grow. Even more importantly, his faith in Christ shapes who he is and how he carries himself.”

The Gophers’ two local recruits are Nolen Anderson (Wayzata) and Cedric Tomes (East Ridge). Anderson is considered a four-star prospect, while Mpoyi and Tomes have received three stars from 247Sports.