Rochester teenager sentenced in January 2020 murder
Mar. 9—A Rochester teenager who admitted to shooting and killing a 24-year-old man in January 2020 was sentenced Monday to more than 17 years in state prison.
Robert Bryant Salley Jr., 19, was sentenced in Olmsted County District Court by Judge Christina Stevens to 210 months in state prison for the Jan. 10, 2020, shooting death of 24-year-old Trevor Boysen. He received a concurrent 60-month prison sentence for a firearms charge.
Salley pleaded guilty on Jan. 15, 2021, to second-degree murder-without intent and possession ammo/any firearm as an adjudicated delinquent for crimes of violence. Salley will receive credit for 414 days he has already served. He had been held on $2 million unconditional bail since Jan. 13, 2020.
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Boysen was shot and killed on Jan. 10, 2020, in the parking lot of The Quarters Apartment Complex, 832 21st Ave. SE. Rochester Police Capt. Casey Moilanen said in the days after the shooting that the incident leading up to the shooting appeared to have been a "prearranged drug deal."
Speaking on his own behalf before Stevens handed down the sentence, Salley expressed his condolences to Boysen's family and said that in his almost nightly prayers, he asks God to give Boysen's family the strength they need to overcome the pain.
Salley, who was on extended juvenile probation at the time of the shooting, said he has "grown from the person I used to be."
"I no longer wake up and think only about myself," Salley said.
Trevor Boysen's family speaks
The mother of Boysen's son, Talia Radke spoke of the connection Boysen had with his 6-year-old.
"Our son looked up to Trevor as his superhero," she said. "My son lost everything on that cold, dark day."
Only able to manage a few sentences before being overcome with emotion, Boysen's younger brother, Christian Murphy, said his brother could "always put a smile on your face."
A victim advocate read the remainder of Murphy's statement.
Murphy asked the judge to hand down the maximum punishment, saying he did not believe Salley would learn form this incident and that he went there that January day to harm Boysen.
"I don't believe I can explain how cold that day was," Boysen's mother Kimberly Ekic said. "I still carry the chills within my bones as well as the memory as if it was yesterday. It was the day that I lost my first and truest love, the day I lost my Trevor."
Boysen's father, Corey Boysen, submitted a written victim impact statement that was not read during the hearing.
Assistant Olmsted County Attorney Joseph Rosholt asked the judge to impose a 210-month prison sentence. In arguing for the sentence, Rosholt said the shooting has caused irrevocable harm and created damage that will last lifetimes.
Salley's attorney, Ryan Predmore, told the court that Salley took "direct, meaningful responsibility at the sentencing hearing" for his actions. Predmore also noted that Salley had taken steps in the year before the incident to "rise above crime."
Salley was remanded to the custody of the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center to await transfer to a state prison.
