Man gets year in workhouse for armed robberies days after controversial plea deal in deadly carjacking

A defendant given a controversial no-prison plea deal for a deadly 2019 carjacking returned to court Monday where he was sentenced to one year in the workhouse for two armed robberies committed days before the killing.

Husayn Braveheart, who was 15 when Steven Markey was shot to death in an attempted carjacking four years ago in northeast Minneapolis, pleaded guilty to the robbery cases. As part of his plea deal, he was immediately ordered to serve a year in the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility, commonly referred to as the workhouse. Terms of the plea deal also include five years of probation with a stayed sentence of 4½ years.

Prosecutors with the Hennepin County Attorney's Office and Braveheart's public defenders reached the plea deal that involved amending the robbery charges from the more serious first-degree to second-degree.

If not for the pending robbery cases, Braveheart, now 20, could have been released from custody Thursday when a plea deal was reached in Markey's murder.

In that deal, prosecutors agreed to amend the charges from aiding second-degree murder to attempted assault, which enraged Markey's family. Since that case was pending for nearly five years, Braveheart's time served in custody fulfilled his agreed upon four-year sentence.

Hennepin County Judge Michael Burns rejected the first negotiated plea deal after finding it too lenient for the murder. That deal involved a one-year workhouse commitment and five years of probation — what was accepted Monday for the robberies.

Burns accepted the renegotiated plea Thursday, but he said he had concerns about further harm and if Braveheart would get the support he needed out of custody. He expressed similar concerns Monday after accepting his guilty plea in the robberies.

"You've been in the position quite a few times where you were supposed to do things that didn't work out. Those are all things you were doing under a judge's order or supervision of probation."

Burns said for Braveheart to be successful he needs to not focus on letting others down, rather "spend time focusing on doing this for yourself."

"I hope that you do follow through with what you're saying you're going to do— not only for yourself but for the community at large," Burns said.

Braveheart apologized before he was sentenced to the workhouse Monday.

"I'm deeply remorseful for what I did. I'm very sorry. I wish it never happened. I'm not the same person I was four years ago. And I plan on following through with my commitment. I will do my best."

Braveheart's public defenders declined to comment.

He was held in jail over the weekend on $250,000 bail for the robberies. He has four days of credit toward his workhouse commitment. According to Minnesota statute, a third of that sentence will be served on electric home monitoring with good behavior.

Markey's family attended the hearing Monday and said afterward that prosecutors seemingly treated the robberies more seriously than the murder.

Catherine Markey, a long-time attorney who employed her son Steven Markey as her paralegal, said that if it was an attempted assault her son would still be alive.

She believes the case became political for County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who campaigned on treating juveniles differently based on the science of brain development. Moriarty, who took office in January, pledged to focus on rehabilitating, not punishing, kids.

But Catherine Markey said that she doesn't agree with Moriarty looking at each defendant to then decide what she is going to do. "She's not looking at the law and the facts," she said.

Markey was gunned down by Braveheart and co-defendant Jered Ohsman, who prosecutors say fired the fatal shot on June 11, 2019. At the time, Ohsman was 17 and Braveheart was 15.

Two days earlier the young duo stole vehicles from two other people. Charges say that both victims identified Braveheart as the one who held them at gunpoint June 9.

At 3:43 a.m., a woman walking to her vehicle at 31st Street and Emerson Avenue N. said the teens took her keys and drove over her phone while fleeing. She found a stranger to call 911.

Ohsman told police the vehicle was running out of gas, so they abandoned it only to quickly steal another car.

Around 5 a.m., a man parked his car and headed toward his apartment in the area of 8th Avenue SE. and 4th Street SE. — about a block from where the teens abandoned the woman's stolen vehicle. Braveheart held him at gunpoint while demanding him to empty his pockets or else he would shoot him in the head.

Ohsman, who is serving a 21-year sentence for the murder, cooperated with the robbery investigations but charges say that Braveheart did not.

Days after committing the robberies, the teens attempted to steal Markey's car when gunfire rang out. As a bleeding Markey crashed into a nearby building, the teens ran away.

They were arrested the next morning after crashing a stolen SUV in St. Louis Park.

Hennepin County Attorney's Office spokesman Nicholas Kimball said in a statement that if Braveheart's probation is ever revoked, he would have to serve the 4.5 years in prison.

Kimball said his probation will be under the supervision of the new Transition Aged Youth (TAY) Unit, which is "a significant change to juvenile probation supervision."

"This unit serves 18- to 24-year-old clients," Kimball said. "The purpose of this specialized supervision unit is to support young people, based on brain science, through a continuum of phases that emphasize building a strong working relationship between client and probation officer; developing a case plan and engaging in cognitive behavioral interventions in the second phase; and finally focusing on stability, building community supports and well-being."