Rosemount teen pleads guilty to role in Vietnam veteran's death

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday for his role in the death of a Vietnam veteran he assaulted in a St. Paul park earlier this year.

The 18-year-old from Rosemount was charged with first-degree manslaughter in juvenile court after the incident occurred when he was still 17 years old.

Court documents say that on Jan. 23, Thomas Dunne, 76, took out his phone to take a photo of a man he had observed urinating in a pond at Harriet Island Park. That's when two boys got out of a car and all three approached. They tried to take Dunne's phone and one of them punched him in the face.

Police said when officers arrived, they observed Dunne bleeding from his right eye socket.

Officers were able to locate the group and asked them if they had been involved in a fight. One boy told police, “Yes, it was me,” according to the charges. All three were arrested.

One of the teens reportedly told police he thought Dunne was recording them and should have “mind his own business.”

Dunne required emergency eye surgery at the regional hospital due to his injuries. He also suffered multiple facial fractures and traumatic injuries to his right eye, according to hospital records.

Days after being released, Dunne was readmitted to the hospital due to complications from his injuries. He had contracted an infection and eventually had to be placed on a ventilator. He died on February 23, exactly one month after the attack.

The Ramsey County medical examiner determined Dunne's cause of death to be “probable complications of an assault” and ruled the manner of death a homicide.

A disposition hearing for the teen convicted in Dunne's death is scheduled for June 18.

WCCO generally does not name juvenile suspects unless they are certified as adults.