Father of man convicted in 12-year-old’s death pleads guilty to aiding charge

A Minneapolis man pleaded guilty to charges on Friday in connection with his role in a shooting that killed a 12-year-old boy in September 2021.

Letterance Demont Grady, 42, pleaded guilty to aiding an offender, court records show. The plea deal calls for him to get a sentence of just over 10 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 5.

Grady was charged with two counts of second-degree murder with intent with the statute of liability for crimes of another — both intentional and reasonably foreseeable — and one count of felony aiding an offender to avoid arrest by harboring or concealing in November 2021.

However, those charges were dismissed in April 2023 because the lead attorney from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office was unavailable for trial and the court was unwilling to reschedule the trial.

Prosecutors refiled charges against Grady a day later, which included four counts of second-degree murder and two counts of aiding an offender.

Court records show an amended complaint was filed on Dec. 6, which added a count of aiding and abetting second-degree assault.

In August, Jeremiah Marquise Grady — Letterance Grady’s son — was sentenced to just over 30 years in prison for the murder of 12-year-old London Bean in north Minneapolis. Jeremiah pleaded guilty to the charges in May, according to court documents.

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According to court documents, Letterance is not accused of actually pulling the trigger but prosecutors say he’s still partly responsible for Bean’s death.

As previously reported, on Sept. 8, 2021, there was a physical fight between Bean and Jeremiah Grady’s younger brother before the shooting.

Police say Jeremiah Grady was arrested and charged after he approached from the back of the property, wearing a mask and all black, and began shooting, hitting Bean twice.

Soon after, Letterance Grady denied he was there at the time of the shooting. However, surveillance video showed him driving his son to and from the scene.

During police interviews, Jeremiah Grady told police his father encouraged him to retaliate and told him to shoot from the car.

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