Man sentenced for attack on trans woman at Minneapolis LRT station
Trans woman violently assaulted at Minneapolis LRT station
Two men have been charged after police say they were involved with the violent assault of a trans woman at a Minneapolis light rail train station on Monday. Twenty-three-year-old Kevin York Jr. and 19-year-old Keaten Morris are charged with aggravated robbery and assault for the bloody attack Monday morning at the Lake Street light rail train station.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Following the February 2023 attack of a trans woman at a Lake Street light rail train station in Minneapolis, one man has been sentenced for his part in the assault.
Keaten Morris, 19, of Minneapolis, has been sentenced to 365 days in a Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility, and probation for three years for one count of third-degree assault. As part of the sentencing, Morris will be furloughed to a chemical dependency treatment program when an opening becomes available.
The sentencing comes after a plea deal in which Morris agreed to plead guilty to one charge of third-degree assault, while dropping a first-degree aggravated robbery charge.
The deal would have allowed Morris to be released after sentencing due to time served, but according to Judge Peter Cahill prior to sentencing, Morris had violated his terms of conditional release by not keeping in touch with probation.
According to criminal charges from the attack, Metro Transit police responded around 9:45 a.m. on Feb. 28, 2023, to the Lake Street LRT station for the report of a woman down with "visible brain matter" on the ground. At the scene, officers say they found the victim with a serious injury to the back of her head and actively bleeding, along with numerous other injuries.
Security video showed the woman being pushed down stairs and three people assaulting her while she was on the ground.
Charges state two of the three suspects were seen climbing onto the southbound train, and video showed them getting off at the LRT VA Medical Center Station.
According to the charges, officers at that station tracked down two men, later identified as Morris and 23-year-old Kevin York Jr. In the charges, police say York was found with a woman's clutch purse in his possession. Police also say both men were carrying multiple bags.
In the charges, officers said they had concerns that the attack was driven by bias because the victim was transgender. However, neither Keaten nor York faced charges for a bias attack.