MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Richfield teen has been sentenced to five years in prison for the beating death of a homeless man in North Minneapolis, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
On Monday, Andre Zedrick Steward Jr. received the 150-month sentence in connection to the June 29 beating death of 50-year-old Harry Lee Brown. He pleaded guilty to second-degree unintentional murder in late September.
Steward said he and 23-year-old Willis Richardson were looking for a person to rob on the night of June 29. Around 9 p.m., they saw Brown walking along 18th Street North, near Bryant Avenue, carrying a bag from a liquor store.
Richardson then attacked Brown by hitting him in the legs with a baseball bat, but Brown fought back. In order to help out Richardson in the fight, Steward said he punched Brown in the face, knocking him down. Richardson and Steward then robbed Brown and used his money ($5) to buy alcohol.
Life support kept Brown alive before he died on July 8. He died from the blunt force head injuries, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
