Bemidji man sentenced to more than 8 years in prison for violent armed carjacking

November 1 – MINNEAPOLIS – Justin Lee Brun, 22, of Bemidji, was sentenced to 99 months in prison for his role in a string of violent armed robberies in two separate carjackings.

The sentencing order, issued by Judge Juan Hoyos in Hennepin County Circuit Court on Monday, Oct. 28, combines Brun’s time in custody for armed carjacking convictions in 2021 and 2022.

The first incident occurred on March 23, 2021, outside the Granite City Apartments in Brooklyn Center.

According to the criminal complaint, Brun and a juvenile accomplice approached the victim, identified in the complaint as ASF, after asking for directions.

When ASF started to hand over the keys to his car, Brun shot him several times, wounding him in the leg, arm and torso. Both suspects then fled in the victim’s car, which was later found with evidence linking Brun to the crime through fingerprints and surveillance footage.

The second kidnapping happened almost a year later, on February 15, 2022, in Minneapolis. According to court documents, Brun and his accomplices surrounded a parked car, threatened the victim with a gun and demanded her car keys, with Brun reportedly threatening to “blow (her) brains out” if she hesitated.

The suspects fled, leading police on a high-speed chase before the car hit a snow bank. Police found a sawed-off shotgun with live and spent ammunition inside, the documents said.

In connection with the 2022 case, the Hennepin County order states that Brun received 88 months in prison for aggravated robbery (count 2), to be served at the Minnesota State Penitentiary in St. Cloud, and 48 months for aggravated robbery aggravating circumstances (item 1), served concurrently with the 88-month term.

Judge Hoyos ordered the 88-month sentence in the 2022 case to be served after Bruno’s 2021 robbery conviction, bringing his total time in custody to 99 months with 1,167 days served since his Oct. 28 conviction.

Brun’s sentence of a total of eight years and three months includes conditions of supervised release, as outlined in the sentencing order. Among them are a lifetime ban on the possession of firearms and restrictions on movement without a permit.