St Paul Man Gets 7 Years for Killing 3-Year-Old Boy

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A St. Paul man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for intentionally dropping his girlfriend's 3-year-old son on his head, killing the boy.

Thirty-five-year-old Devioun Johnson was sentenced Tuesday after earlier pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death last year of Tyrell Wooten. Johnson had been charged with second-degree murder, but prosecutors agreed to a plea deal.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Johnson was watching the boy and his older brother while their mother was at work in June 2017 when the 3-year-old wet his pants.

Johnson dropped the younger boy, causing him to land on his head. Instead of calling 911 or the child's mother, Johnson put the boy to bed beside his sleeping 7-year-old brother.

Johnson apologized to the boy's family in court.