Minneapolis man sentenced in fatal August 2019 shooting

Derrick Blanton, 39, of Minneapolis, was sentenced to more than eight years in prison after a jury found him guilty of first-degree manslaughter, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

Blanton was sentenced Wednesday to 103 months in prison for fatally shooting 29-year-old Isiah Smith in August 2019. Smith was the ex-boyfriend of Blanton’s girlfriend. Blanton was facing second-degree murder charges in the case, but the jury found him guilty on December 22 of the lesser offense based on a variety of contributing factors, including that Blanton was acting in the “heat of passion.”

The 103-month sentence Blanton received Wednesday is the maximum under Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines.

Additionally, Blanton is set to go to trial October 4 in another case for which he is accused of shooting and killing a man in July 2019. Blanton was charged with second-degree murder in that case.