MINNEAPOLIS — Just one day after publicly disagreeing with Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty's handling of a juvenile murder case, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has agreed to take over prosecution in the matter, at the request of Gov. Tim Walz and against the will of Moriarty.
“I have absolute confidence in Attorney General Ellison,” Governor Walz said in a release. “He has requested this important case and stepped up once again to serve the people of Minnesota. I know Keith will work tirelessly to seek justice and bring a modicum of peace to the grieving family.”
Zaria McKeever was shot to death in her apartment last November -- allegedly by a 15-year-old, who along with his 17-year-old brother kicked in her apartment door. McKeever's ex-boyfriend Erick Haynes allegedly gave them the gun and drove them there.
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office under Mike Freeman moved to certify the boys as adults to be tried for murder alongside Haynes, but after Moriarty became Hennepin County Attorney, her office changed course -- offering the boys a plea bargain to serve two years in the Red Wing juvenile prison and testify against Haynes.
Ellison appeared at a community event on Wednesday, where he proclaimed his disagreement with Moriarty's handling of the case.
McKeever's family had already requested Ellison to take the case from Moriarty and expressed worry on Wednesday that he wouldn't fulfill his promise to them.
"You were our last hope. You gave us hope when we met with you," said McKeever's stepfather Paul Greer at the event.
McKeever's sister, Tiffynnie Epps, said Gov. Walz called her personally on Thursday afternoon to inform her that Ellison's office was taking over the case from the Hennepin County Attorney.
"Hoping that justice will be served and that everything is going in the right direction," Epps said. "This is just a wakeup call [for Moriarty]. Do the job the appropriate way. Prosecute, don't public defend, and nobody will have to step in to take over. Simple as that."
In a statement Thursday, Ellison said he had requested Moriarty's office refer the prosecution of the case to his office, but he was turned down.
"While I share the belief that too many juveniles are involved in the adult criminal justice system, accountability for the seriousness of this crime has been missing in this case. I respect that county attorneys are duly elected by their constituents to exercise their discretion; however, the disposition of the juvenile shooter that Hennepin County has proposed in this case is disproportionate to the seriousness of the crime committed and falls far short of the family’s and community’s expectations for justice and safety," said Ellison, in his statement.
Moriarty issued her own statement Thursday afternoon, saying her office considered the factors of youth and what protects public safety in both the short and the long term.
"Prosecuting a juvenile for homicide without seeking an adult certification is not unprecedented in Minnesota. But the Attorney General’s decision to insert himself in a prosecution when an elected County Attorney is actively prosecuting a case is unprecedented," said Moriarty in the statement.
Moriarty added that Ellison's action to insert his office into the case undermines the longstanding constitutional authority, autonomy, and responsibility of elected prosecutors.
"I am sure that the Attorney General has disagreed with many outcomes in many cases in this state over the years, some because the sentences are too low and some because the sentences are too harsh. It is unfortunate that, in what has become a very high-profile case, he has decided to instigate an unprecedented intervention." concludes Moriarty's statement.
The move truly is an 11th-hour decision, as the 15-year-old was set to enter into the plea agreement Friday morning in juvenile court. Ellison's team rather than Moriarty's team will now attend that hearing, and the judge is likely to continue the matter to a later date.
Although some county attorneys across the state disagree with how Moriarty was handling the juvenile case, the Minnesota County Attorney's Association disagreed with Walz using his power to take the case away from an elected county attorney actively prosecuting it.
Ellison ended up taking over the prosecution of the Derek Chauvin and Kim Potter cases, but in both those instances the county attorney voluntarily asked for assistance.
Minnesota's governor has only once exercised the statutory ability to involuntarily remove a case from a county attorney.
In 1993 in Crow Wing County, Jack Graham was refusing to prosecute child sex abuse cases. Gov. Arne Carlson assigned the attorney general's office to intervene at the request of the county sheriff and other officials.
Prior to formally asking Gov. Walz to assign him the case, Ellison wrote a letter to Judge Todd Fellman, who is presiding over the 15-year-old's case, and asked Judge Fellman to reject Moriarty's plea offer.
In the letter obtained by KARE 11 News, dated April 4, Ellison spells out more clearly how he disagrees with Moriarty's characterization of the case. She emphasizes that the teens were influenced and manipulated by Haynes, the adult in the case.
But Ellison wrote, "This criminal act was developing for weeks and [the 15-year-old] had time to reflect and ask questions. [The 15-year-old] accepted a gun, a deadly weapon, and voluntarily discharged the gun. And, most heinous of all, [the 15-year-old] knew the decedent and he knew her daughter. This is not a case of a juvenile being manipulated. [The 15-year-old] knowingly and voluntarily killed the decedent."
Ellison adds that "any offender who commits such a horrible murder should serve years in prison" and "the court should not allow [the 15-year-old] to avoid punishment and then terrorize the McKeever family and the rest of the community."
Legal experts have told KARE 11 News that Judge Fellman does not have authority to reject a plea in an extended juvenile jurisdiction prosecution, which might have played a role in Ellison stepping in.
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