Minnesota Court of Appeals Upholds Attempted Murder Conviction, 30-year Sentence

On Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an opinion slapping down an appeal from a Prior Lake man who broke into a Burnsville man's home with an accomplice, attacked him with a knife and set fire to his home.

The court upheld all but one of 22-year-old Irvin Scott Cook convictions, which include first-degree attempted murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree arson and first-degree burglary. The court did vacate a conviction for motor vehicle theft.

The convictions stem from an early morning attack that occurred in 2008. Accounts of that fateful 20 minutes vary, but the basic story is clear: Two attackers each took a turn stabbing victim Paul Traub, Jr. in the back, face and head, doused him with flammable liquid and set eight fires inside his home. When Traub struggled to his feet, the intruders ordered him back down. Nevertheless, Traub survived the attack.

In 2010, Cook was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment—a heavier sentence than typically called for in sentencing guidelines. The district court based its sentence on Cook's conduct, which it found to be "significantly more cruel" than that typically associated with the charge of attempted murder. The judge described the crime as the "most extreme and egregious attempted murder cases this court has ever encountered."

, Cook's accomplice, Shaquen Whitfield, was sentenced to 17 years.

In his appeal, Cook's counsel argued that the district court abused its discretion by allowing in-court identification of him as the assailant, admitting a previous second-degree assault conviction as evidence, conducting part of the trial in his absence, violating his Sixth Amendment rights to a public trial by locking courtroom during final jury instructions and imposing an excessively heavy sentence. Cook's attorneys also claimed that he had ineffective counsel at the time.

Judges at the Court of Appeals did not agree.

The court ruling released on Monday changes little for Cook. His sentence will not be affected by the decision.

To see the full text of the Court of Appeals decision, click here.