Stranger Threw 5-Year-Old Boy Over Mall Railing, Faces 19 Years In Prison

A 24-year-old Minneapolis man pleaded guilty Tuesday to hurling a 5-year-old boy over a third-floor railing at the Mall of America last month. Emmanuel D. Aranda was set to be sentenced in June to 19 years in prison.

The 24-year-old was charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder in the April 12 attack. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop an “aggravated circumstances” portion of the charge. The plea deal will allow Aranda to avoid an additional year in prison, according to the Associated Press.

Local media reports said Aranda approached the child and his family on the day of the tragedy and snatched the boy before tossing him over the third-floor railing. The child fell some 40 feet to the floor below. He “survived the fall but suffered bleeding from the head, massive head trauma and fractures in his arms and legs,” the Star Tribune reported.

Aranda, who did not know the victim nor his family, had a history of arrests at the mall. It was also revealed that he suffered from mental health issues. Court records also show Aranda had been ordered to undergo psychological evaluation or treatment following his arrests at the mall.

While his attorney, Paul Sellers, previously said Aranda had been in mental health court in the past, on Tuesday, he said his client was mentally competent enough to proceed in the attempted murder case.

“He is competent, clearly. I wouldn’t be able to go forward with the plea if he wasn’t competent,” Sellers said, adding that it was “absolutely, 100 percent” Aranda’s decision to plead guilty.

Aranda’s mother, Becky Aranda, told the Tribune that her son had had mental health issues since he was “a little boy.”

In an interview with the Tribune, Sellers said: "The state’s system fails to address defendants like Aranda, who may need something other than prison or commitment to the St. Peter Minnesota Security Hospital, which houses dangerous people with severe mental health disorders." He added: "I wish that there was a better alternative to the dichotomy of either being sent to St. Peter for an indefinite time or going to prison.”

A GoFundMe page set up by the family received over $1 million in less than a month.

"Landen has a very long road to recovery ahead of him. He suffered life threatening injuries, many people who fall from that distance aren’t as lucky to make it. He has many surgeries ahead in his life to try to get back to a normal life for a young, vibrant boy. We started this GoFundMe for their family to help cover the immense medical costs and rehabilitation costs for the long road ahead. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to hear about their story," the page read.