Ward County Deputy State’s Attorney Kelly Dillon acknowledged Thursday that the state was wrong in its theory about which of two men pistol-whipped a young woman and shot and paralyzed a young man at a south Minot apartment on Jan. 7, 2017.

As a result, the state dismissed a Class A felony attempted murder charge and a Class B felony robbery charge against Javontez Denane Barnes, 26, and let him plead guilty to one B felony burglary charge and three counts of Class C felony reckless endangerment from a separate incident on Jan. 4, 2017. In return, Barnes must testify at any eventual trial for Randolph Garbutt, the man the state now believes was the actual culprit in the attack on the young man and woman.

Last year, the state had promised Garbutt, who is serving a six-year sentence for robbing the Cash Wise grocery store on the same day as the attack on the two people at the Minot apartment, a plea deal in exchange for his testimony against Barnes.

The state’s theory had been that the two men went over to the apartment of the victims initially to buy marijuana from the man who was shot. The woman was later found unconscious under the table with facial fractures and the man was found near death on the landing after he had been shot through the lungs and spinal cord. He is permanently paralyzed.

Barnes admitted on Friday that he burglarized the south Minot apartment and, a few days earlier, had fired shots through the locked door of an apartment following a dispute.

Because Barnes has been deemed a dangerous offender, the state was able to ask for him to be sentenced to twice the usual sentence for each of the reckless endangerment charges.

Judge Richard Hagar sentenced him to 10 years on each C felony charge, with a requirement that he serve five years, and five years of supervised probation. The sentences are concurrent. He also sentenced him to 10 years on the B felony, with a requirement that he serve five years, and five years of probation. That sentence is also concurrent with the other charges. Barnes has also been ordered to pay $3,468.23 in restitution and $1,100 in court costs on the reckless endangerment charges.

He will receive credit for 614 days already spent in jail.

In court on Thursday, Barnes apologized to the young man who was paralyzed and his mother, but said he was not the man who shot him. Barnes said he wants to clear his name and help by testifying truthfully against Garbutt.