Duluth teen gets 27 years for murder of 'best friend' (2024)

DULUTH — Corey Devon Young, 19, has been sentenced to 330 months for the murder of Xzavier Louis Aubid-St. Clair, who he referred to as “my best friend.”

In court Monday, Young apologized to Aubid-St. Clair’s family and the community for what he described as “my poor decision.”

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“I’m doing my best to be a better person for myself and my daughter,” Young told Judge David Johnson.

Young’s public defender, Michael Ryan, requested that the court consider a downward departure in his client’s sentence, suggesting 200 months would be more appropriate, given his young age, relative immaturity, and fear for his own safety at the time of the crime.

You killed the victim in front of his brother. You blew out his neck.

Judge David Johnson

But Johnson recalled watching a video of the shooting in which Young stepped forward with a pistol trained on Aubid St. Clair and then shot him in front of his 12-year-old brother from a range of about 10-12 feet.

“You killed the victim in front of his brother,” Johnson said. “You blew out his neck.”

The judge said the trauma of the scene remains seared into his memory, recalling that same video, which captured the 12-year-old brother “screaming like I’ve never heard before.”

Johnson said he saw no grounds for a downward departure to 200 months, suggesting he was more inclined to deliver something approaching the maximum recommended sentence of about 360 months for an intentional second-degree murder conviction.

Johnson acknowledged that Young’s apology to the family Monday demonstrated some degree of remorse and maturity. He ultimately sentenced Young to 330 months, with 821 days credit for time already served in detention.

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With good behavior, Young could be eligible for supervised release or parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence — or 220 months.

Young was 17 at the time of the shooting, the same age as his victim.

Aubid-St. Clair had accused Young of being involved in a $400 theft, and Ryan said his client believed he was “in imminent danger of death or harm” when he pulled a pistol out of his fanny pack.

The shooting occurred just before 9:30 p.m. July 2, 2022, near the intersection of 16th Avenue East and First Street.

A 16-year-old witness to the crime said he heard Aubid-St. Clair claim Young’s gun “wasn’t real,” just moments before Young racked the slide and pulled the trigger.

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Young initially fled the scene but turned himself in the following morning, allegedly telling officers: “I swear it was self-defense. I felt threatened. He was saying I was a snitch and all that. I didn’t know what to do.”

St. Louis County Prosecutor Nathaniel Stumme said Aubid-St. Clair’s mother had initially intended to deliver an impact statement to the court on Monday but was too distraught to do so.

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Nevertheless, Stumme said: “Her son was taken away from her, and she and her family will always feel that loss.”

“This is one of the most tragic situations I’ve ever been a part of,” Stumme said. “The idea that these young men would try to settle a dispute with fanny packs full of firearms over the silliest of beefs is both shocking and unsettling.”

At trial earlier this year, the county attorney’s office confirmed that Aubid-St. Clair had approached Young with the intent to fight him. But the prosecution said Young pulled a gun before any blows were exchanged, invalidating any self-defense claims.

Just five days before the shooting, Young was sentenced to six months of supervised probation after he was found to possess a 9 mm pistol and ammunition on school property.

Young was originally charged as a juvenile, but Johnson ruled in December 2022 that he could be charged as an adult, given the severity of the alleged crime and the defendant’s history.

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By Peter Passi

Peter Passi covers city and county government for the Duluth News Tribune. He joined the paper in April 2000, initially as a business reporter but has worked a number of beats through the years.

Duluth teen gets 27 years for murder of 'best friend' (2024)

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