Man involved in downtown Minneapolis cell phone scheme gets 9.75 years in prison - KARE11.com

MINNEAPOLIS — It was a punch that brought to nationalist airy an ongoing, and often violent, strategy successful downtown Minneapolis.

Kevron Williams Gray and his friends tricked a young antheral into handing implicit his compartment telephone extracurricular the Gay 90s barroom precocious 1 nighttime successful July nether the guise that they were adding their rap radical to the victim's societal media.

When the victim, Jackson Nadeau tried to get his telephone back, different assailant punched him successful the face, knocking Nadeau unconscious.

The 24-year-old unfortunate suffered a breached jaw and reported 20 fraudulent transactions, totaling $1,700 connected the accounts accessible connected his phone.

On Tuesday, 19-year-old Williams Gray received a 171-month situation condemnation for his relation successful the scheme. He admitted to stealing a telephone from astatine slightest 1 different unfortunate that aforesaid night.

Minneapolis constabulary person reported much than 100 victims of akin crimes successful the past 12 months successful downtown Minneapolis. The suspects often instrumentality victims extracurricular bars to willingly manus implicit their phones by utilizing mendacious pretenses, arsenic they did to Nadeau, and excessively often, the incidents impact violence.

"People should beryllium capable to travel to downtown and societal gatherings without being acrophobic of being injured oregon robbed," said Judge Shereen Askalani arsenic she handed down Williams Gray's sentence. 

Judge Askalani, arsenic good arsenic authoritative Megan Hennesy, noted Williams Gray's evident deficiency of remorse.

"I don't cognize if you afloat admit the seriousness of your actions," Judge Askalani told him.

Contacted by KARE 11 News aft the hearing, Nadeau sent a statement.

"I would similar to convey my unfortunate advocate, the authorities prosecutors, and the Minneapolis Police Department for each of their hard enactment successful my case. I anticipation that my lawsuit has a affirmative interaction connected our assemblage moving forward. Criminals request to beryllium held accountable for their actions truthful that radical tin consciousness harmless again. I would besides similar to inquire that the Minnesota Freedom Fund stops releasing convulsive criminals into the community, wherever they proceed to victimize others," Nadeau wrote.

The antheral accused of throwing the punch that knocked retired Nadeau, Jamarcus Tucker, was bailed retired by the Freedom Fund successful an unrelated lawsuit successful 2020. Tucker indicated successful tribunal records that helium intends to instrumentality his lawsuit involving Nadeau to trial.

They're accused of draining accounts connected stolen phones done apps similar Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle, past selling the phones to a Chinese nationalist named Brandon Su — nicknamed the "iPhone man" — who tribunal papers accidental has shipped $806,000 worthy of compartment phones overseas from a Minneapolis edifice helium owns.

Su is owed backmost successful tribunal for his lawsuit Wednesday. 

Ten of the suspects facing racketeering charges inactive person not been recovered and person an progressive warrant for their arrests.

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