In St. Paul, Minnesota, a 17-year-old boy has been arrested in for the murder of a youth hockey coach.
Kle Swee, the accused, has been charged with second-degree murder after cell phone data linked him to the crime.
Michael Brasel, 44, was fatally shot on May 6 after encountering a burglary in progress.
Witnesses reported seeing a black car with tinted windows and a loud exhaust leaving the crime scene. The car struck a curb not far from Brasel’s home, causing the front bumper to detach. Authorities connected the car to several previous traffic stops using the bumper and license plate, with Swee identified as the driver in both instances.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Swee’s cellphone, and the teenager’s location data placed him on Brasel’s street at the time of the shooting. After a brief attempt to evade law enforcement, police apprehended Swee in St. Paul on Wednesday, May 10.
Swee has had several encounters with law enforcement in the past year. In April 2022, he was arrested for carrying a gun to Harding High School in St. Paul, where he held it to another student’s head and demanded their cellphone. The incident was recorded by two bystanders and posted on social media. Swee was charged with aggravated robbery and was on probation until January 2023.
Former St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell emphasized that dealing with young people who commit violent crimes should not be approached with a “lock them up and throw away the key” mentality. Instead, there must be consequences, and immediate action is necessary to remove young offenders involved in violent crimes with guns from the streets. Axtell also called for placing these individuals in secure environments where they can access needed resources. He expressed concern over the increasing levels of violence and firearm use among young people in the area.