Jamar Clark protest shooter's friend pleads guilty

Updated 12:19 p.m. | Posted 11:44 a.m.

One of the men who was with Allen Scarsella the night Scarsella shot and wounded five men near a Black Lives Matter protest in north Minneapolis in 2015 pleaded guilty Monday to two counts stemming from the incident.

Nathan Wayne Gustavsson, 23, pleaded guilty in Hennepin County District Court to second-degree riot and one count of aiding an offender.

In his plea, Gustavsson admitted that he knew on the night of the shooting that his friend Scarsella was carrying a firearm. And he also admitted that he knew someone could get hurt that night.

By the end of the evening, five men would go to the hospital with gunshot wounds. Scarsella, who is white, testified during his trial that he fired at the men — who are all African American — out of self-defense.

However, evidence presented at trial revealed that Scarsella held racist views about African Americans. A jury convicted Scarsella of multiple assault charges and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Gustavsson also pleaded guilty to one count of aiding an offender "after the fact." In court, Gustvasson admitted that in the days after the shooting he texted co-defendant Joseph Backman, 28, and told him, "Don't get caught with the drive," referring to a flash drive full of files that Gustavsson believed the police would be looking for.

Investigators found the drive and the files. However, Gustavsson admitted he knew that hiding the drive would slow down the investigation.

Gustavsson, a self-described gun enthusiast, is facing a lifetime ban on his right to possess firearms. His attorney Robert Jones said he will argue for a sentence that will allow Gustavsson's offenses to be reduced from felonies to misdemeanors after fulfilling the terms of his plea agreement.

Gustavsson is also facing six to eight months of jail time. That and other details of his sentence will be determined during a sentencing hearing set for July 19.

In a separate hearing, Backman appeared in court this morning and pleaded guilty to aiding an offender.

Backman drove Scarsella, Gustavsson and Daniel Macey to the protest site on the night of the shooting. He said he and Macey got separated from Scarsella and Gustavsson.

Backman said he heard seven or eight shots fired but didn't know who fired them. "I called 911 and said there was a shooting," said Backman.

Not long after that, Backman said Scarsella called and admitted he shot several people and needed him to come pick him up. Backman admitted that he "removed Scarsella from a crime scene" and said he was wrong to do so.

As a part of the agreement, Backman's charge will be reduced from a felony to a gross misdemeanor and he could serve up to 90 days in jail. However, the deal has not been accepted by Judge Hilary Caligiuri. She will make her decision at sentencing which is scheduled for July 19.

Earlier this year, Caligiuri dropped all charges against the fourth co-defendant Daniel Macy.