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Judge Michelle M. Anderson sentenced Josiah David Delvecchio to 204 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aiding attempted first-degree murder, aiding first-degree assault; and aiding second-degree assault. Delvecchio was convicted by jury in January 2024.
Delvecchio’s conviction arises out of an incident in July 2021 when a disguised intruder entered a business in Babbitt unannounced and repeatedly stabbed a woman working inside before fleeing the scene. After an extensive investigation, law enforcement discovered prior communications between the co-conspirators preparing for and planning the murder.
At the sentencing hearing, Anderson denied Delvecchio’s motion for a mitigated sentence and imposed the guideline sentence. Through victim impact statements, the survivor of the attack and her son described the trauma caused by Delvecchio and his codefendant.
“The success in this case is credited to the bravery of the survivor in her testimony before the jury, as well as the exceptional investigative work led by the Babbitt Police Department, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, and through assistance from the Minnesota Department of Corrections,” said St. Louis County Attorney Kim Maki.
In June 2023, Judge Robert C. Friday sentenced Delvecchio’s codefendant Donald James Miller to 240 months in prison, after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Another codefendant, Dylan Peterson, is also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and has a jury trial set for November 2024.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Chris Florey.
According to court documents, Delvecchio, Miller, and Peterson allegedly stabbed the owner of NE Time NE Wear in Babbitt in the leg and stomach on July 10, 2021, in what prosecutors called a pre-meditated attack. The screen-printing shop owner, Leah Marie Bodas, suffered serious yet non-life-threatening injuries, according to court documents.
According to the complaint and information in a previous Mesabi Tribune story, initially, Peterson, of Grand Rapids, was arrested the night of the incident and later charged with two counts of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault.
However, court records show that five days later “a male claiming to be co-defendant Delvecchio called KBJR and claimed he did the stabbing and law enforcement arrested the wrong person.’’
After further investigation, Peterson, Miller and Delvecchio were each charged with premeditated first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, according to criminal complaints against the men.
According to a previous story in the Mesabi Tribune, in the two months before the alleged stabbing, Peterson talked to Bodas’ boyfriend, an inmate at Rush City Correctional Facility, and discussed frustration with Bodas’ business decisions and said she owed him money, according to the complaints. Miller, who was previously incarcerated at the Rush City Correctional Facility, also discussed frustration with Bodas.
Court records show numerous interactions between the suspects discussing the alleged attack.
On July 1, 2021, “Bodas reported to police that co-defendant Peterson entered NE Time NE Wear and told her he wanted his $600 by the following week or prepare.’’
Six days later, Miller allegedly called Peterson from the Rush City facility and described Bodas and her boyfriend as “the enemy’’ and indicated “this girl’s gotta go.’’
