Husayn Braveheart gets time served in amended plea deal in deadly northeast Minneapolis carjacking
MINNEAPOLIS — An accomplice in a deadly carjacking in northeast Minneapolis in 2019 entered an amended plea and was sentenced Thursday after a judge rejected a previous plea deal in October.
Husayn Braveheart, 20, pleaded guilty to an amended count of first-degree attempted assault and was sentenced to 54 months in prison, according to Hennepin County officials.
Because Braveheart has been in custody for 1,647 days, the sentence is tantamount to time served.
Braveheart was 15 years old at the time of the carjacking, which occurred June 11, 2019 at the intersection of 14th Avenue Northeast and Tyler Street Northeast. Police said Braveheart and another teen, Jered Ohsman, were armed with guns when they attempted to steal 39-year-old Steve Markey's car. Ohsman shot and killed Markey and is now serving more than 20 years in prison after being tried as an adult.
Braveheart was also certified as an adult after a four-year appeal process.
Hennepin County prosecutors previously offered Braveheart a controversial plea deal that offered probation over prison time. The county attorney's office cited his amenability to probation, his lesser role in the crime and the progress he made in treatment during his incarceration as reasons for the deal. Markey's family strongly opposed the plea deal, and in October, a judge declined to accept it.
On Thursday, Markey's family told WCCO that this week's deal was done without their input.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released the following statement about the new plea deal:
Our job is a difficult one, it is to hold people accountable, protect public safety, and achieve a fair and just result. We believe that we have reached that balance in this case. We know some will agree and others will not. Mr. Braveheart, a juvenile when he committed this terrible crime, has made enormous strides and been responsive to treatment during the past five years of his incarceration. That treatment might have prevented this crime in the first place had he received it, and we believe the treatment will prevent a future crime if it continues, which this sentence allows. As always, our heart goes out to the Markey family, who suffered a terrible tragedy.
Braveheart has two pending aggravated robbery cases for which he is being held on bail. He has another court appearance scheduled for Monday.