St. Paul council approves $9.5 million settlement in 2023 rec center shooting

Sentencing in rec center shooting

Exavir Dwayne Binford Jr. was sentenced to 125 months on Friday for shooting a 16-year-old boy at St. Paul's Jimmy Lee Rec Center in January 2023.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - In a matter of seconds, the St. Paul City Council approved a $9.5 million settlement that will be paid to a boy who was shot by a city recreation center employee.

READ MORE: St. Paul set to approve $9.5M settlement in 2023 rec center shooting

$9.5 million settlement approved 

Local perspective:

The St. Paul City Council passed the settlement in unanimous 7-0 vote during their meeting on Tuesday without any discussion.

This comes more than three years after the then-16-year-old victim, JuVaughn Turner, was shot in the head outside Jimmy Lee Recreation Center in January 2023. Turner survived the shooting, but was severely wounded in the near-deadly encounter. 

Under the terms of the settlement, the city would pay out $9.5 million to the family in exchange for the family releasing all future legal claims against the city.

St. Paul recreation center shooting

The backstory:

City worker Exavir Dwayne Binford Jr. was charged with attempted murder in the second degree for the shooting and ultimately pleaded guilty in February 2024 to first-degree assault. He is currently serving a ten-year sentence and is due to be released in December 2029.

READ MORE: St. Paul rec center shooting: City employee sentenced to 10 years

Prior to the shooting, the teen was apparently involved in an argument with Binford that turned physical. According to the criminal complaint, prior to shooting the boy, a witness heard Binford utter: "If I got to kill somebody I will. I don’t give a f---."