A second teen has been charged in the deadly shooting of a St. Paul man who attempted to stop someone from rifling through his wife's vehicle in front of the family's home.
Ta Mla, 18, of St. Paul, was charged Thursday in Ramsey County District Court with aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder in connection with the May 6 shooting of Michael Brasel, 44, in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood.
Mla remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail and is due back in court on July 12. A message was left Friday with his attorney seeking a response to the allegations.
His co-defendant, 17-year-old Kle Swee, of St. Paul, was arrested May 10 and charged on May 12 with second-degree intentional and unintentional murder. Prosecutors have said they intend to have Swee, who remains in custody, charged as an adult.
Family members said Brasel was trying to prevent his wife's SUV from being broken into before the father of two and youth hockey coach allegedly was shot by Swee multiple times.
The charges against Mla say he was the one who was going through the vehicle when Michael Brasel grabbed him from behind and Swee, acting as a lookout, responded with gunfire.
" 'My bad, bro,' " Mla told police was Swee's response immediately afterward, the charges read. " 'I didn't mean to.' "
Investigators put Mla, who has a criminal history involving guns as a juvenile, at the scene by testing for DNA on a small camouflage bag recovered by police from the SUV's front seat. Mla's DNA was found on the bag, the charges read. He was found and arrested on Tuesday in St. Paul.
