Why such a stiff sentence for ‘attempted’ murder of one gang member by another?
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune last week (hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers’):
A St. Paul man was sentenced to 18 years in prison for what a Hennepin County prosecutor called a brazen and unprovoked shooting at a Minneapolis food store last year.
Zakaria Yusuf, 25, was convicted of attempted second-degree murder in June. His sentence was the maximum allowed under the state’s sentencing guidelines. Judge Daniel Moreno said Yusuf continues to be arrogant and to have a complete disregard for other people’s lives.
According to the criminal complaint and testimony at the trial, the victim, who is a member of the Somali Outlawz Gang, was standing outside the store at 201 W. Lake St. on Sept. 22, talking with two of his friends. Yusuf, who was known to associate with the St. Pistol Boys gang in St. Paul and Somali gangs in the Cedar-Riverside area, walked up to the group, pulled a gun from his waistband and fired it at the victim, hitting him in the arm.
The victim ran into the store and Yusuf kept firing, hitting him several more times. The victim collapsed and Yusuf fired one more time from the doorway, with the bullet hitting the victim’s arm when he threw it across his head for protection. He was hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center and eventually was discharged.
However, the victim refused to cooperate with the prosecution and was placed under court-ordered electronic home monitoring to be sure he would show up at the trial.
Meanwhile in Canada, a research project sought to find out why so many Somali youths in Edmonton were turning up dead, but it looks like the same old excuses—not enough opportunity, struggling with the cultural differences, blah, blah, blah.
Click here for our archive on Somali gang violence in Edmonton. There need to be serious consequences for immigrant criminal gangs, maybe this judge is doing exactly the right thing with this stiff sentence for the arrogant punk.
By the way, as usual I couldn’t find a readily identifiable photo of the convicted Minnesota man, but found this one of someone (a mean looking dude) with the same name from the same city who in 2010 was arrested for beating a “good Samaritan.” Surely they didn’t let that Zakaria Yusuf out that quickly! Or, did they?
And, just think! You raised these ‘youths’ on your dime!
For new readers, see ‘Why so many Somalis in Minneapolis?’ Thank Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Service and World Relief MN.