Kle Swee, 17, pleads guilty, agrees to be sentenced as adult in death of St. Paul coach Michael Brasel
UPDATE (Aug. 30, 2023): Kle Swee has pleaded guilty to murder charges. What follows is a revised version of the original story.
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty to murder charges Wednesday in connection to the shooting death of beloved St. Paul youth hockey coach Michael Brasel in May.
Kle Swee, who is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree murder while committing a felony, also agreed Tuesday to be sentenced as an adult, which will happen in early October. Ta Mla, 18, is also charged with second-degree murder in this case.
RELATED: Prosecutors charge second suspect Ta Mla in St. Paul hockey coach Michael Brasel's death
Brasel was shot on May 6 at about 7:20 a.m. on the 2300 block of Chilcombe Avenue in St. Paul. Brasel's son was inside the house at the time, and told police he heard his father yell "What are you doing?" before hearing gunshots. Witnesses then described seeing a black car with tinted windows and a loud exhaust speed west.
A few minutes later, a witness in St. Anthony — about 1.5 miles from the shooting scene — reported that a black car with a loud exhaust had swerved into a curb, and the front bumper had fallen off.
Police were able to use the bumper and license plate to tie the car to two prior police stops in the weeks before the shooting. He was stopped in St. Paul and Savage, though the charges do not state the reason for the stops.
Swee was driving the car both times, documents state. Investigators were then able to connect Swee and his cellphone, and executed a search warrant, which showed location data tying him to Chilcombe Avenue at the time of the shooting.
Swee was eventually arrested at his home in St. Paul. He initially tried to flee from officers, but was apprehended. He did not cooperate with officer's attempts to obtain a statement, documents say.
Previous Charges
Swee was charged in connection to an April 2022 incident in which he took what appeared to be a gun to Harding High School and tried to steal from another student.
Documents say that he demanded a cellphone from the student and held the gun to his head in the school bathroom. Two other boys witnessed the incident, which was captured on Snapchat.
Swee was charged with aggravated robbery and was discharged from probation in January of 2023.
"Enough is Enough"
Former St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell spoke about the boy's charges back in May, saying that he feels something needs to be done to hold children accountable.
"It's not a 'lock 'em up and throw away the key' mentality, but we need consequences. Enough is enough," he said. "We need again to get back to basics. To make sure that there is accountability in the criminal justice system. No more one-of-two or three options if a person is involved in a felony level crime of violence with a gun. We need to act immediately. Take that young person off the street, put them into a secure environment, make sure they get the resources they need."
Axtell is not affiliated with the case, but he said that "the level of violence with our young people continues to grow exponentially. The level of firearms used by young people continues to grow. It's a major concern."
Brasel remembered
Family and friends gathered days after the shooting for a visitation for Brasel, who was described as "a cornerstone of the community, quiet in an unassuming way."
Across St. Paul, neighbors have put out their hockey sticks to honor the coach.
RELATED: St. Paul neighbors place hockey sticks on porches to honor slain coach
Friend Jenny McNattin said he was "so incredibly patient with those kids. He taught kids how to skate that ... I don't know any other coaches that would have taken the time."
