A 21-year-old White Bear Lake man has admitted his role in a late-night street race that ended with an SUV sliced in two and two teenagers dead on a busy Eagan highway.
Jordan John Wieland pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of third‑degree murder for the June 14, 2025, crash on Highway 149. Prosecutors say multiple vehicles were racing at speeds far beyond the 45 mph limit before one SUV slammed into a traffic pole and broke apart. Under a plea deal, two counts of criminal vehicular homicide will be dropped at sentencing. Wieland remains free on an $80,000 bond, with sentencing set for Sept. 1, 2026.
Plea hearing and court details
Wieland entered what is known as a straight guilty plea to two counts of third‑degree murder in Dakota County District Court, according to the Pioneer Press. The agreement calls for prosecutors to dismiss two criminal vehicular homicide counts at sentencing, leaving Wieland to be sentenced only on the murder charges.
The plea puts him in a guideline range that local reporting pegged at roughly 11¼ to 18 years in prison. For now, he remains out on an $80,000 bond while pre-sentence work continues and lawyers prepare arguments. The Pioneer Press account notes that court filings and the prosecutor's remarks at the hearing lay out how the state plans to frame Wieland’s conduct when he returns for sentencing in September.
How investigators say the crash unfolded
Minnesota State Patrol incident logs place the crash at about 11:18 p.m. on June 14, 2025, as a Jeep, a Honda and a Dodge headed south on Highway 149 toward Highway 55, according to the patrol’s incident display (State Patrol). Investigators say the Jeep and Honda crossed the median during the race.
The Jeep then struck a semaphore pole and was severed, leaving two occupants unresponsive at the scene. Both were later pronounced dead, the State Patrol reported. Witness cellphone video and in‑car speedometer footage captured the Honda and Dodge hitting about 110 mph in the seconds leading up to the wreck, as detailed by the Star Tribune. Authorities say they later found the Honda abandoned and eventually located Wieland at a hospital.
Victims and co-defendant status
The Dakota County Attorney’s Office identified the victims as 19‑year‑old Reed Robert Schultz, who died shortly after the crash, and 18‑year‑old Finnian Thomas Cronin, who died at the hospital on July 1, 2025, according to a county news release (Dakota County).
Prosecutors initially charged both Wieland and 24‑year‑old Melody Lynn Little of West St. Paul by warrant complaint with two counts each of third‑degree murder and criminal vehicular homicide, the county said. While Wieland has now taken a plea, local reporting notes that Little still faces all counts and is scheduled for a jury trial on May 11, 2026. Court documents cited by prosecutors also reference prior speeding convictions for both defendants, which became part of the pretrial record.
Legal context
Under Minnesota law, third‑degree murder covers conduct that is eminently dangerous to others and shows a depraved mind, without an intent to kill. The statute is spelled out in Minnesota Statutes. In recent years, prosecutors around the state have turned to that charge in deadly driving cases, particularly where they say the behavior went far beyond ordinary negligence.
National coverage of a separate Minnesota crash last year highlights that approach and the lengthy prison terms that can result when juries or judges agree that extreme driving amounts to murder, as reported by AP News. In Wieland’s case, both sides are expected to argue over how his actions fit within that legal framework when he returns to Dakota County District Court this fall.
Wieland’s Sept. 1, 2026 sentencing hearing will determine his prison term and formally clear the remaining counts under the plea deal. His co‑defendant’s trial is still on the calendar for May. In a news release, prosecutors thanked local agencies for their investigative work, and court dockets show the case will continue to move through Dakota County District Court this year. For the families, and for a community still grappling with street racing on suburban roads, the guilty plea answers one part of the legal puzzle while leaving the broader fight over enforcement and prevention unresolved.
