October 5, 2023
ST. PAUL, MN—The teenager who shot and killed a beloved St. Paul hockey coach will now spend the next 25 years in prison for the crime.
Kle Swee, 17, was sentenced Wednesday for the shooting and killing of Michael Brasel in front of his St. Paul home back in May.
The shooting happened as Swee and a group of others were breaking into cars, Brasel, a husband and a father of two boys, had gone out to confront the group trying to steal his wife’s car, reports CBS News.
Brasel attempted to stop the robbery and he was shot and killed in the process. Swee shot Brasel multiple times in the abdomen, back, and chest.
“I did not lose my brother — he was taken,” Michael’s brother, Christopher, said. “My brother was not sick. He did not make decisions that put him in danger. He was murdered. He was taken away from the people he loved and who loved him.”
Every seat on the side of the courtroom with Brasel’s family and friends was full as a Ramsey County Judge sentenced Swee on Wednesday.
Moo Ah, Swee’s mother, said that “her family came to America for opportunity, but her son struggled through language barriers and bad influences,” according to KSTP-TV.
A second suspect, Ta Mla, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Brasel. His next court appearance is set for November 2.
Feature Screenshots via KSTP-TV