A Twin Cities man with a violent criminal past was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Friday, more than a year after police found him holed up in a Brooklyn Center hotel with four young kids and an arsenal of guns and drugs.
Twin Cities man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for drugs, guns around young kids
Huriah Kareem Bledsoe's attorney said his difficult childhood put him on a path of selling drugs.
February 29, 2020 at 2:33AM
Law enforcement arrested Huriah Kareem Bledsoe on Jan. 17, 2019, after tipsters told police he was armed and staying at the Extended Stay Hotel, 2701 Freeway Blvd., with children. Hotel staff had also found loose bullets in the lobby a couple of weeks earlier, which police later matched to one of Bledsoe's weapons, according to prosecutors.
In searching the room, police and federal agents found five guns — four handguns and a short-barelled shotgun — body armor and $2,320, along with cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, according to charges.
The guns were in plain view of the kids — the eldest 12 years old, the youngest 4 years old — according to court documents filed by prosecutors. "The drugs were loose and easily accessible to the minor occupants of the room, and others appeared to be packaged for distribution."
In court, U.S. Assistant Attorney Emily Polachek argued for a harsher sentence — 11½ years — because Bledsoe "created a very unsafe environment" for children. Bledsoe, 40, was once a member of the Gangster Disciples, though he told law enforcement he no longer belongs to the gang, according to prosecutors. He's been in and out of prison for most of his life, with several violent convictions, including domestic assault by strangulation.
One of those past incidents included beating two women with a closet rod, according to court documents filed by the prosecution. "One of the women was holding an infant child … Mr. Bledsoe hit the mother of the infant child in the head approximately 30 times, and the baby was hit three times while the mother was holding her. When police responded, Mr. Bledsoe was holding the baby, squeezing the baby tighter and tighter. Mr. Bledsoe refused to release the child until officers threatened to shoot Mr. Bledsoe if he did not lay the baby down. When Mr. Bledsoe finally released the baby, officers photographed blood spatter on the baby's face and clothing."
Bledsoe's attorney, Manvir Atwal, said her client deserves some mercy because of his difficult childhood. Bledsoe grew up in poverty in the suburbs of Chicago, according to court documents filed by Atwal. "The family was poor. They lived in either apartments or public housing, and twice lived in a homeless shelter. The family was always on food stamps, but even then, there typically was not enough food around the house. Despite this, Mr. Bledsoe's mother seemed to always take care of her daughters. She made it a priority to provide for them — to feed and clothe them. However, from a very young age Mr. Bledsoe was told to 'be a man.' "
Tasked with providing for himself at a young age, Bledsoe began selling drugs, according to Atwal. "Unbeknownst to Mr. Bledsoe, this desperate decision made decades ago served as a turning point in his life and began a cycle that was difficult to break. When he found himself without work, he turned to what he knew — selling drugs — as a way to support his children and his cancer stricken mother. These criminal actions leads Mr. Bledsoe to this Court."
Atwal said the kids in the hotel room belonged to a female friend who had rented the room. She said the quantities of drugs were unusually low for a federal charge.
In issuing her decision of 10 years in prison and three years on supervised release, Judge Susan Nelson acknowledged Bledsoe's difficult upbringing, and that Bledsoe had demonstrated he's capable of love through his support of his mother.
Nelson said she hopes he makes good on his stated desire to seek treatment and job training while incarcerated, and that he makes something of himself once he returns to society. "In order to break that cycle, you need to address what's at its core: mental health and substance abuse," Nelson said.
"I'm sorry," Bledsoe told the court Friday, standing in orange garb at the courthouse in St. Paul.
"I love you," shouted a small group of friends sitting in the courtroom.
"I love you, too," Bledsoe replied, as the marshals led him out of the room.
Andy Mannix • 612-673-4036
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