CRIME

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Change in prosecution

Former Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman was in the process of certifying the juveniles as adults. However, when Moriarty took over the case earlier this year, she moved to offer the juveniles a plea deal in exchange for their testimony against Haynes. If the plea deal went forth, the juveniles would serve just two years at the juvenile center if they excelled during their sentencing rehabilitation program.

The decision blindsided Epps and her family, who had been in communication with the county attorney’s office every step along the way. They received contact from Moriarty’s team informing them after the fact that they had made the decision not to try the juveniles as adults.

“We got a phone call saying that we need to have a Zoom meeting and it was with Sarah Davis,” Epps said. “She told us that they offered a plea deal and that we didn’t have any say in it. They just told us that’s what it was. We just who suffered at the Square were largely overlooked.

“We don’t need people to only come to the Square when big events are happening or for photo ops,” Pendleton said. “We need politicians to pass the George Floyd Act and to provide practical solutions for both businesses and social issues in the neighborhood. That includes mental health services, treatment for chemical dependency, youth mentoring programs, training in the trades and other job services.”

“Personally,” he added, “I have been blessed to be part of the history of the Square. I will continue to uplift the stories of those who are part of it and hope to honor their legacy by being present at the Square full time.” dedicated standards for physical and mental health care and death investigations in Minnesota prisons. thought they were letting us know what they were planning to do. But they already had offered it [a plea deal] to them.”

Crews called Minneapolis’s consent decree, a courtenforceable order that will require institutional changes to take place in the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), one of the most important changes that the racial justice movement has won.

Epps viewed the decision as Moriarty signaling her commitment to juvenile justice reform, but she doesn’t believe this is the case to stake her campaign promises on.

“She was a public defender for over 30 years. So, her mindset is still stuck at public defending,” Epps said. “That’s why she’s helping the two murderers in this case more so, versus actually being there for the victim’s family and standing up for the victim who is no longer here.”

Moriarty was elected Hennepin County attorney on November 8 of last year. Later that same night, McKeever would have her life snuffed out at the hands of the two young brothers.

Efforts to reverse the plea deal

Soon after the conversation with Moriarty’s staff, Epps took to the state capitol to get in contact with the governor’s office. She also tried to get a meeting with Ellison’s office to make the case for them to take over this case from the county attorney.

Black Lives Matter MN is still fighting for other changes. The group wants to see St. Paul’s reparations commission scaled to the state level. The group also wants to see an end to qualified immunity and require police officers to carry professional insurance. Crews said the current primary goals of the group are “to act on police brutality and the legacy of slavery.

“We’re glad we’re pushing

“I went up there like at least twice a week, sometimes three times a week,” she said. Epps and her family began to look at all their options including starting a petition for the attorney general to take over the case.

During this effort, Epps received an email from the governor’s office that in- the needle on these issues, but we want to see more changes happen,” Crews said. “Especially when we have progressive governments like we do here in Minnesota with the governor, the House, and the Senate being controlled by the DFL.”

Crews criticized recent moves by Democrats—at both the state and federal level—to give more money to law enforcement. He said the extra surprise to McKeever’s family since they knew that neither one of the individuals in question had reached a plea deal.

Undeterred by this news, Epps reached out again to request that the state attorney general’s office be brought in to prosecute the adults, including Haynes’s sister and her partner, who are alleged to have helped money spent on law enforcement in Minnesota in 2023 should have been spent on closing the racial wealth gap instead.

“In 2020, the Democrats rode into office off the BLM movement and off the energy from Black Lives Matter,” Crews said.

“In 2024 going forward, we want to see some serious changes as it pertains to police brutality.”

“There has to be an acknowledgment of the hurt and

In speaking with the detective, she discovered that the plea deals weren’t complete and that there was still a chance for the case to be taken over by the attorney general’s office.

“It wasn’t done. He had to go to the juvenile center to get the statement, to make the proffer complete for everything,” she said. “Once we figured out it [the plea deal] was still on the table, that it wasn’t on the record, we wanted [the suspects to be prosecuted] like how we said. We want all the cases to be tried [as adults].”

Persistence pays off harm that has been done at the hands of law enforcement here in the state of Minnesota,” Garraway Allen said. “People in our community are hurting and traumatized by what happened to George Floyd and to many other human beings before and after George Floyd.” and robberies should have the chance to turn their lives around. But those charged with heinous crimes such as murder should not be given that same leniency. formed her that there wasn’t anything that could be done because the county attorney had informed them that they had reached a plea deal with both juveniles. This came as a in stalking McKeever in the hours prior to her death.

Epps’s tenacity and consistency paid off when she received a call from Governor Walz on April 6, the day before the 15-year-old alleged shooter was set to take a plea deal, that he would be appointing Ellison to the case. Overjoyed, McKeever’s loved ones finally felt as though they were now able to seek justice following her murder.

Cole Miska welcomes reader comments at cmiska@spokesman-recorder.com.

Although McKeever’s family wants the juveniles tried as adults, they don’t want them sentenced to life in prison. “It would have to be at least 23 years—that’s how old she was— for the juveniles, and then life for the adults because those guys were aware of their actions. Even the juveniles were aware too,” Epps said.

One year for every year McKeever was alive—that is what Epps is seeking in the trial for her sister’s murder. She knows that it’s likely that the juveniles would only serve two-thirds of their sentence, but she hopes that there is an effort to prosecute everyone involved to the full extent of the law.

Epps also reached out to others involved in the case, including the lead detective, to see what more could be done.

While Epps wants these juveniles to be tried as adults, she expressed that she is not against juvenile justice reform. She stated that those who are first-time offenders and commit crimes such as carjackings

The MSR will continue to follow this story by talking to prosecutors on both sides of the issue as well as advocates for juvenile justice reform and missing and murdered Black women and girls.

Abdi Mohamed welcomes reader comments at amohamed@ spokesman-recorder.com.

By Nadine Matthews

Contributing Writer

The Washington, D.C. wedding circuit brought together a dynamic trio of award-winning musicians, The String Queens (TSQ). Ahead of headlining the Flint Hills Family Festival in St. Paul on June 2, Dawn Johnson, Kendall Isadore, and Elise Sharp recently spoke to the MSR about their passion for education and music.

When she sought someone to hire to play viola at a wedding, a colleague of Isadore’s suggested that his Juilliard-trained wife (Johnson) was just who she needed. “It was just wild when he said it, because there’s such a small community of string players of color,” recalled Isadore.

Later, Isadore met Sharp when they played at a variety of weddings and local galas. “We noticed that there was something special when we played classical music together. Behind the Haydn, Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, there was an element of soul and a diversity of styles,” said Isadore.

They all finally played together at a wedding six years ago and decided then to form their own trio.

All three work as educators in elementary, middle, and high schools in the D.C. area during the day and indulge their love of music outside of that. Stated Sharp, “We come from a long day of work, but TSQ is very important to all three of us, so it’s worth our time to get it together and rehearse.”

“It gets me through the day knowing that I’m going to meet up with these ladies and we’re going to create something special,” added Johnson.

Johnson, who plays viola, cellist Sharp, and violinist Isadore are in high demand. In addition to weddings and other special local events, the trio has played the vaunted stages of Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and even the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, who attended Isadore’s alma mater, Howard University.

“The feeling was surreal,” recalled Johnson. “It was an experience we’ll never forget for the rest of our lives.”

Johnson also explained that since they are mothers of daughters, it was even more special seeing Harris sworn in as VP.

They all feel that music is a cru- cial aspect of a great overall education. Explained Sharp, “Music is the best place to be creative. It’s the best place for our kids to actually have the freedom to think on their own.

“It’s the place of discipline. It’s the place of teamwork. It’s the place of camaraderie. Absolutely, there needs to be more of it.”

Isadore added that music education also “enhances self-awareness, language, and social development.”

Because of their belief in the importance of music education, they caution educators to be discerning when implementing music programs in schools. Isadore pointed out, “Maybe there is a program in the school, but it’s about quality. We need to evaluate orchestra and music programs the way we evaluate science and math curriculum.”

The String Queens have released several albums, the most recent of which is “Rise.” It consists of a number of popular songs from across multiple genres such as Aretha Franklin’s “You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman),” The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s in Need of Love Today,” the Negro spiritual “Motherless Child,” P-Diddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You,” and more.

“Community is at the heart of what we do,” noted Isadore. “We also know that the world has gone through a lot over the past three years. We wanted to make sure we spoke to those things with this album.” the most beautiful pieces of music.”

Isadore continues to be in awe of Wonder: “For me, it’s always been about Stevie Wonder. It’s the storytelling through his musicality and instrumentation. His ability to write lyrics is above reproach and every note, every lyric has a purpose.”

The unique quality of their music demands that Johnson, Sharp and Isadore not only play but also compose their music. Each audience for whom they perform gets a subtly different composition.

“The sheet music for a lot of the repertoire that we perform, allowing the instrumentation to be ready for a trio, literally does not exist,” explained Johnson. “We actually have to create our own arrangements. We’ve never performed the same piece in the same way twice.

“We’re constantly on our P’s and Q’s making sure that we’re constantly listening, revising and adapting our arrangements to make them sound increasingly better.”

Ultimately for The String Queens, their composing also comes back to the community. “We want to make sure that we’re delivering the most fulfilling, most enriching musical experience that somebody who’s paid their money to come see us perform can experience,” said Johnson.

The trio has collectively been heavily influenced by the likes of Rachmaninoff, jazz violinist Regina Carter, and Stevie Wonder. “Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto,’ stated Johnson, “is absolutely one of

The String Queens will headline the Flint Hills Family Festival on Friday, June 2 at 7 pm at Ordway Concert Hall, located at 345 Washington St. in St. Paul. For ticket info, visit bit.ly/ StringQueensOrdway.

Nadine Matthews welcomes reader comments to nmatthews@spokesmanrecorder.com.

Music can soothe, affirm, comfort, inform, and reach places and spaces where words often fail. Sister Spokesman will kick off Black Music Month with a panel discussion with media veterans, tastemakers, musicians and artists that highlight the richness of Black music.