A St. Paul man was sentenced Friday to about 50 years in prison for fatally shooting one man and wounding another outside of a bar last year.
Minutes before he was sentenced, Byron D. Brantley, 32, told Ramsey County District Court Judge Salvador Rosas that he did not kill Trevell Glass, 26. Brantley said he felt scrutinized because of his criminal and gang history.
"I'm not surprised that you maintained your innocence here," Rosas said, "but it may have been better for you not to say anything."
Brantley's attorney, Mark Miller, said at trial that co-defendant Xavier Buckhanan had struck a deal with prosecutors for a lighter sentencing in exchange for testifying against Brantley. Buckhanan also fired a gun that night.
Other witnesses identified Brantley as the shooter.
"This defendant is more than a threat to public safety, he is an absolute menace," prosecutor John Ristad said Friday in arguing for a stiff sentence.
Rosas told Brantley that there was "substantial" evidence against him.
"I have no doubt that given the chance, you will kill again," Rosas said minutes before handing down the sentence.
Brantley was convicted of attempted second-degree murder and second-degree murder in April for shooting Glass outside of Born's Bar on Rice Street. A second man was wounded.
According to charges, Glass had tried to break up a fight between Brantley and others inside the bar. Brantley and his friends were kicked out, and he shot Glass four times about 2 a.m.
"That was my only son," said Glass' mother, Yvette Glass. "He was a good kid."
CHAO XIONG
