Second individual pleads guilty to involvement in death of Stephen Markey during attempted 2019 carjacking

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty today announced that Husayn Braveheart, who was 15 at the time of the offense, has pled guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder in the June 2019 killing of Stephen Markey during an attempted carjacking. In the four years the case has been pending, Braveheart has been in custody, successfully receiving specific forms of treatment and programming to address the significant history of trauma and abuse he endured during his life. The agreement in the case calls for him to receive a sentence that allows that carefully-monitored treatment and programming to continue. If he fails to successfully complete five years of probation, he would be required to serve 261 months in prison.

The individual who pled guilty to approaching Mr. Markey first and to firing the shot that killed him, previously pled guilty to intentional murder and is currently serving a 261 month prison sentence.

“My commitment to Stephen Markey’s family is that we will do everything we can to prevent another family from suffering such a tragic, senseless, and devastating loss,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “Mr. Braveheart has shown he is responsive to the carefully-selected programming he has received over the past four years. If we disrupt that progress, we will jeopardize public safety and risk everything when he comes back to the community. We cannot take that risk.”

The original district court judge in this case initially ruled that Braveheart’s case should proceed in juvenile court. On an appeal of that decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a decision that led to the case being certified into adult court, despite also acknowledging the district court did not err in its assessment that juvenile court offered the best chance of protecting public safety in this case.

During the more than four years this case has been pending, Braveheart has received treatment and attended programming that had been recommended by court-appointed psychologists. The programming has focused on Braveheart addressing the issues that led him to participate in Mr. Markey’s murder. He has successfully completed multiple treatment programs.