Hopkins man sentenced to more than 38 years in prison for murder in park

Hennepin County District Court Judge Shereen Askalani sentenced Chance Adams, 27, to more than 38 years in prison for murdering 18-year-old George Pineda who was walking through a Minneapolis park, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Thursday.

Adams was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after serving 30 years as a result of the jury’s guilty verdict on the first-degree murder charge. In the Wednesday hearing, Adams was also sentenced to 98 months for the aggravated robbery, which is to be served consecutively. Additionally, Judge Askalani sentenced him to 84 months, which is an upward departure, for being a felon in possession of a handgun. This sentence is to be served concurrently.

The result is Adams will have to serve 38 years and two months in prison before he can even ask to be considered for parole.

In court, a victim advocate from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office read a poem from the victim’s mother, which served as her impact statement.

Adams apologized to the Pineda family and his own family.

“There is no rational explanation for what happened the night of the murder,”Judde Askalani said before pronouncing the sentence. “You robbed them. They [Pineda and his friend] complied with your command… all this for $40 cash and a cell phone.”