EAGAN, Minn — A young man is back in jail after getting out in December due to a controversial plea deal the judge "had no choice" but to accept.
Eagan police say Husayn Braveheart, 21, was arrested in a stolen car early Sunday morning and is now charged with fleeing police.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Dakota County, Eagan Police attempted to pull over a stolen vehicle driven by Braveheart. But he allegedly accelerated to over 100 miles per hour, running several stop signs in the process.
The charges say Braveheart also maneuvered randomly from lane to lane while driving on highways as police attempted to use stop sticks. They ended the pursuit but surveilled Braveheart by helicopter and arrested him in south Minneapolis.
In 2019, when he was 15 years old, Braveheart was involved in the murder of Steve Markey during an attempted carjacking. Braveheart's co-defendant Jared Ohsman pleaded guilty and received nearly 22 years in prison.
But Braveheart's case lingered during a legal fight to determine whether he could be charged as an adult. In the meantime, after Mary Moriarty was elected Hennepin County Attorney, she determined Braveheart was turning his life around by receiving programming while incarcerated.
"It's really important that we not disrupt that progress in that treatment, and I think that's in the best interest of public safety," Moriarty said in July 2023.
Moriarty believed sending Braveheart to prison would ultimately be a bigger threat to public safety once he's released than continuing treatment while on probation because the Minnesota Department of Corrections would not be able to offer the same kind of rehabilitation treatment that was ordered by a judge during Braveheart's certification hearings.
But when Moriarty's office offered Braveheart a plea deal that included probation instead of prison in exchange for a guilty plea to second-degree murder, Judge Michael Burns rejected it.
"I cannot find that there are substantial and compelling reasons to depart [from the sentencing guidelines,]" Burns said at an October 2023 hearing.
In return, Moriarty's office offered Braveheart a different deal in which he would plead guilty to first-degree assault and prosecutors would drop the murder charge. Since Braveheart had already been incarcerated for four years at that point, he was given credit for time served without having to go to prison, which fell within the guidelines.
"I have great concern as to whether or not the system is doing you a service or disservice here," Judge Burns said during that hearing.
Braveheart was sentenced to probation in two pending unrelated aggravated robberies. He now has a probation violation warrant in each of those cases, in which he still does have potential prison time held over his head.
In response to Braveheart's latest allegations, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office issued a statement: “We are aware of the situation in Dakota County. If the allegations are true, Mr. Braveheart will be held accountable.”
After this story was published, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association issued a statement from their general counsel as well as from the Markey family.
“Moriarty insisted on giving no real punishment to a repeat violent offender and carjacker who helped murder an innocent man. Now he’s back on the streets, offending again, and putting more lives at risk. Once again Moriarty’s office prioritizes repeat criminals over community safety. There MUST be real consequences for violent offenders,” MPPOA general counsel Imran Ali wrote.
“While we are not surprised, we are deeply disappointed. The Hennepin County Attorney refused to listen to our concerns and told us that the release of Mr. Braveheart was in the interest of public safety. We are sad that this has resulted in danger to more families,” the Markey family wrote in their statement.
