Teen given 15-year term for role in fatal shooting of St. Paul man interrupting vehicle break-in

A teenager received a 15-year term Thursday in connection with being an accomplice to murder when a St. Paul man was shot while interrupting the pair breaking into his wife's vehicle this spring.

Ta Mla, 18, of St. Paul was sentenced in Ramsey County District Court after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder stemming from the killing of 44-year Michael Brasel on May 6 in his family's quiet St. Anthony Park neighborhood.

With credit for time in custody since his arrest, Mla is expected to serve roughly the first 9½ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

"I just wanted to say sorry for your loss," Mla said to Brasel's family and friends who were assembled in the courtroom. "Sorry. That's it."

The sentence from Judge Timothy Carey matched the plea agreement on Nov. 2 between the County Attorney's Office and Mla's defense.

Lead prosecutor Elizabeth Lamin explained that the plea deal's terms were meant to provide the family with closure and acknowledge Mla's early admission to his part in the killing. At the same time, Lamin said, she wanted to be clear that he was equally as responsible for Brasel's death as his accomplice.

Mla's co-defendant, 18-year-old Kle Swee, was the shooter who killed Brasel, a father of two boys and beloved youth hockey coach. Swee, who was 17 at the time of the crime, was sentenced in adult court on Oct. 4 to a 25-year term. He's serving the first 16⅔ years in prison followed by the remainder on supervised release.

According to the criminal complaints:

Brasel's wife, Hilary Brasel, said her husband saw someone rummaging through her car parked in the 2300 block of Chilcombe Avenue. Brasel's son told investigators he heard his dad yell, "What are you doing?" before gunshots rang out.

Hilary Brasel went to her wounded husband and started chest compressions and called for help as onlookers called 911. Brasel's wife said someone apparently had rifled through the car and placed items from the center console on the driver's seat.

Investigators reviewed neighbors' camera footage and saw the suspected vehicle leaving the crime scene. Officers discovered a call to Lauderdale police earlier that day about a similar vehicle there that lost its bumper while swerving to avoid a stopped car. Officers recovered the bumper with a Minnesota license plate that was registered to a 2009 Honda coupe.

Swee was arrested with a Honda key in his pocket and declined to speak to law enforcement. Officers found the Honda in Swee's garage with no front bumper.

Investigators put Mla, who has a criminal history involving guns as a juvenile, at the scene by finding his DNA on a small camouflage bag recovered by police from the SUV's front seat. He was arrested in St. Paul on June 6 during a traffic stop.