A Two Harbors man avoided potential first-degree murder charges Thursday when he accepted a plea bargain with prosecutors over a December 2012 Central Hillside stabbing death.
Raymond Charles Weeks, 42, entered a guilty plea to a second-degree murder charge in State District Court in Duluth, admitting that he stabbed 54-year-old Kevin John Tyman on Dec. 21, 2012.
In exchange for a guideline 30-year prison sentence, prosecutors agreed not to seek first-degree murder charges, the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office reported. Under Minnesota law, only a grand jury can bring first-degree charges, and a conviction carries a maximum life sentence.
Judge Shaun Floerke scheduled Weeks’ sentencing for May 8.
Weeks’ co-defendant, 32-year-old Joella Lee Tucker of Duluth, pleaded guilty earlier this month to aiding and abetting second-degree murder. She testified at her March 5 plea hearing that Weeks stabbed Tyman in the abdomen, causing the liver laceration that led to his death hours later.
Tucker also struck a deal with prosecutors, agreeing to a maximum of 10 years and 10 months in prison, but reserving the right to argue for a shorter term. Her sentencing date has not yet been set, according to court records.
Tucker testified at the hearing that she was angry at Tyman, her former landlord, because she had received information that he may have been involved in the sexual assault of her sister. She said she attempted to round up friends or relatives to go confront Tyman. Weeks, who was staying with her, volunteered to help, she said.
“He was pissed off that my family didn’t want to get involved and that they weren’t doing nothing about it,” she testified.
The two went to Tyman’s apartment, 15 E. Seventh St., where Weeks immediately stabbed Tyman in the side, she said. They ran from the scene and went back to her residence.
Tucker testified that she did not expect Weeks to stab Tyman, but acknowledged that by going to the apartment, there was a substantial likelihood there would be a confrontation.
Tyman went to a neighboring apartment, where he asked the residents to call 911. He was transported to a Duluth hospital, where he later died.
A witness across the street told police she saw two people run out of the building very fast, almost falling. She said one dropped an object in the street, which made a “clank” noise. They picked up the object and continued running toward Lake Avenue.
The suspected murder weapon, the knife, was recovered by police, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conducted forensic testing on it. Results showed that the majority of the population could be excluded as DNA contributors, but Weeks could not.
When brought in for questioning, Weeks allegedly became defensive without even being told why he was being interviewed. Police said Weeks called himself a “shepherd and a protector of women and children.”
