Kle Swee (KSMP screenshot) and Michael Scott Brasel (GoFundMe)
A 17-year-old in Minnesota will spend more than two decades behind bars for shooting and killing a beloved 44-year-old youth hockey coach and father of two earlier this year after the man confronted the teen and his accomplice while they were breaking into his wife’s car. Ramsey County District Court Judge JaPaul J. Harris on Wednesday ordered Kle Swee to serve a sentence of 25 1/2 years in a state correctional facility for the slaying of Michael Scott Brasel.
Swee in August pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder — intentional but not premeditated, in connection with the shooting. Swee, who waived certification thereby moving his case to adult court, was also credited with 152 days of time already served. The judge also ordered him to pay just over $8,000 in restitution to Brasel’s family.
Prior to being sentenced, Brasel’s wife, Hilary Brasel, addressed the court with a victim impact statement in which she said her husband “only lives in a metal box” that she and her kids visit daily.
“I no longer have my soulmate and the man I have loved for 23 years,” she said, per Minneapolis CBS affiliate WCCO. “Michael was my compass for life and I feel lost without him.”
Swee also addressed the court and apologized for his actions.
“I just want to apologize to the victim’s family, to my family, to everyone I impacted. I take full responsibility for my actions. All I ask for is forgiveness,” Swee said, according to Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE. “The time I spend in prison, I want to better myself. Right now I’m currently getting my GED and trying to get my diploma and after that, I want to take college classes and get a job in prison. And when I get released I will be a changed man. When I get released, I want to help young kids not make the same mistakes that I did, that I made, in honor of Michael.”
According to a probable cause affidavit, Swee was acting as a lookout as his co-defendant Ta Mla broke into cars in the St. Paul area just before 7:30 a.m. on May 6, 2023. Brasel saw Mla rummaging around in his wife’s vehicle, which was parked in the front of their home, located in the 2300 block of Chilcombe Avenue in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood, and went outside to intervene.
“What are you doing,” Brasel said to Mla as he emerged from his home.
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Moments later, Swee opened fire, shooting him multiple times and ultimately killing him.
A neighbor who overheard the melee called 911 and reported shots being fired. Officers with the St. Paul’s Police Department responded to the scene and found Brasel suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. St. Paul Fire medics transported Brasel to Hennepin County Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
A subsequent autopsy determined that Brasel’s manner of death was a homicide caused by gunshot wounds to his chest, back, and torso.
Following his arrest, police said Mla admitted to driving himself and Swee away from the scene, but claimed he didn’t actually witness Swee shooting Brasel. Mla claimed a third person in the car was also supposed to be a lookout but was sleeping at the time, police wrote.
Mla further claimed that Swee felt bad about the shooting.
“My bad, bro. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Swee said after the incident, per the affidavit.
Mla is also facing one count of 2nd-degree murder over Brasel’s death and is currently slated to appear in court on Nov. 2 for a scheduling conference.
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