Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - The woman convicted of intentionally driving an SUV into a crowd of people and killing a teenage girl in downtown Minneapolis last September was sentenced Tuesday.

About a month ago, 23-year-old Latalia Anjolie Margalli entered guilty pleas to second-degree murder and five counts of second-degree assault. The admission of guilt occurred just before her trial was scheduled to begin in Hennepin County Court.

According to court documents, Margalli was arrested after witnesses told Minneapolis police that she was the driver of the SUV that struck and killed a 16-year-old girl in the early morning hours of September 14, 2024. Five other people were injured in the incident.

The criminal complaint against the Minneapolis woman stated that she and her friends had been involved in a verbal altercation with the teenage victim and her friends that escalated into a physical fight outside a business near Hennepin Avenue and 5th Street. The charges indicated that witnesses reported seeing Margalli get into the SUV and initially drive in reverse before she put the vehicle into drive and accelerated directly at the 16-year-old victim, who was on the ground and fighting with another person.

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The criminal complaint alleges she "drove directly into the crowd of people, without braking, and struck numerous people," including the juvenile who was fatally injured. One witness was quoted as saying that he saw the vehicle strike the crowd and that Margalli "didn't hit her brakes or nothing." One of the people injured told police that Margalli stated, "I'm going to shoot you" before she got into her SUV.

READ MORE: Minnesota Woman Admits to Deadly SUV Attack on Teen Girl

The police report on the deadly incident said that Margalli then drove away from the scene, but was followed by a witness. Minneapolis police later stopped and apprehended her in a residential area of North Minneapolis, about a mile from the crime scene.

Margalli was sentenced to a 15-year prison term for the second-degree murder conviction and consecutive 21-month sentences for each of the five felony assault convictions. The total is 285 months, or just under 24 years in prison.

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