Keaten Morris, Kevin York Jr. sentenced for violent assault on trans woman at Minneapolis LRT station
UPDATE: This article now contains details on Kevin York Jr.'s sentencing. What follows is a revised version of the original story.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Two men have been sentenced for their roles in a violent attack on a transgender woman at a light rail station early this year.
On Monday, 19-year-old Keaten Morris, of Minneapolis, was sentenced to one year in the Hennepin County Workhouse and three years of probation, court documents show. He will also be furloughed to chemical health treatment when a bed opens up. For the first year of his probation, he's to stay away from light rail trains and train stations.
Morris was sentenced on a third-degree assault charge, a felony that will drop to a misdemeanor if he successfully completes his probation.
On Wednesday, 23-year-old Kevin York Jr., of St. Paul, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, with a first-degree aggravated robbery charge being dismissed as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison, but that term was stayed. York will instead serve 99 days in the county workhouse, and then will have three years of probation.
According to the criminal complaint, Metro Transit police officers were dispatched at around 9:45 p.m. on Feb. 27 to the LRT Lake St. Station on the report of an assault. While responding, officers were updated with images of three suspects who were seen attacking the victim, the complaint said.
Police received information that two out of the three suspects boarded a southbound train and exited at the LRT VA Medical Center Station. Officers searched the area and located the two suspects, identified as Morris and York, the complaint said. They were both taken into custody.