Lenient sentence for teen involved in fatal Minneapolis carjacking prompts outrage

A Minnesota man admitted in court on Thursday that he played a role in a fatal carjacking in Minneapolis, but relatives of the victim were angered by the plea agreement that will allow the man to soon walk free.

Husayn Braveheart pleaded guilty to one count of attempted assault in the first degree — inflicting great bodily harm. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said the plea agreement calls for a 4 1/2-year sentence. But with credit for time served while awaiting trial, Braveheart could be released soon.

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Braveheart was 15 in June 2019 when he and Jered Ohsman, then 17, drew semiautomatic pistols at Steven Markey, a 39-year-old paralegal from Plymouth, Minnesota. Ohsman told police he ordered Markey out of the vehicle and shot him after seeing him reach for something. Braveheart fired at the vehicle as Markey drove off before dying, according to court documents.

The teenagers were arrested after crashing a stolen SUV.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement that Braveheart “has made enormous strides and been responsive to treatment” while jailed on the charges.

But relatives of Markey who were at the hearing were upset.

“It’s not good enough, and it’s embarrassing,” the victim’s brother, Brian Markey, said, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Ohsman previously pleaded guilty to intentional murder and is serving a 22-year sentence.

Braveheart, now 20, had previously reached a plea deal that called for probation as a sentence, but Hennepin County District Judge Michael Burns rejected the deal in October. Markey’s family and supporters had urged the judge to reject that plea agreement.