Father Charged With Murder That Teenage Son Committed

The father of the 18-year-old accused of murdering 12-year-old London Michael Bean in September has been charged with murder.

Letterance Demont Grady, 40, is 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, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday afternoon.

Around 4p.m on September 8, the Minneapolis police were dispatched to the area of North Aldrich and Eighth avenues after reports of a shooting. When they arrived at the scene, they found Bean with multiple gunshot wounds. He died at the hospital about an hour later. 

According to the report, witnesses claim a physical altercation took place between Grady’s 18-year-old son Jeremiah Grady’s younger brother and Bean. Jeremiah Grady then showed up to the back of Bean’s property wearing a mask and dressed in all black. Grady yelled “Yeah! Wassup!” and started to shoot. Bean was shot two times.

Police filed a warrant for Jeremiah Grady’s arrest on Sept. 16, and he was taken into custody Monday. He is charged with two counts of second-degree murder with intent and has a hearing on Nov. 30. He remains in custody. 

Letterance Grady told police Jeremiah had asked to use his car to go to his mother’s house before the incident. He claimed to have found out about the murder from his child’s mother. Letterance also claims Bean’s family had been bullying his child and there was an “ongoing feud”.

Surveillance video showed Letterance Grady driving his son to and from the scene.

During interviews with police, Jeremiah Grady and his brother said that Letterance had encouraged them to retaliate against the “ongoing bullying” coming from Bean’s family with gun violence and that he told Jeremiah Grady to shoot from the car. 

After being arrested, Letterance admitted to police that his son had texted him on the day of the shooting, writing that the kids would get “jumped,” court records state. He said he drove past the front of the house and saw people outside and parked in the lot behind the house and Jeremiah Grady got out and ran around to the front. Letterance Grady said he heard gunshots and that he and his son left the scene in his truck, but denied that he told Jeremiah to shoot. 

Letterance Grady’s first appearance is Monday. He remains in custody and his bail is set at $1 million.