Man sentenced to 17 years for park murder

The Owatonna man accused of killing another man nearly two years ago in a city park has been sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison.
Hassan Nur Hassan, 29, pleaded guilty in January to one count each of second-degree murder without intent and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. In exchange for the plea, additional felony counts of second-degree intentional murder and car theft were dismissed.
Steele County District Court Judge Joseph Bueltel sentenced him Friday to consecutive terms of 180 months for the murder charge and 21 months for the assault charge, with credit for 606 days already served. With Minnesota’s two-thirds rule, Hassan could be eligible for parole in about 10 years.
He’s been in custody since his arrest two days after the July 12, 2020 incident.
The case began when Owatonna police were called to Dartts Park for a report of a stabbing. The victim, Mohamed Aweis Mohamed, 32, had been stabbed once in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers found a knife and two sets of brass knuckles at the scene.
Witnesses told police that Hassan and Mohamed had argued earlier in the day at a different Owatonna park, then saw each other again at Dartts Park, where a fight broke out. One of the witnesses said when he walked over to check on Mohamed, Hassan stole his car and left the scene.
Another man said he saw Hassan chasing Mohamed with a knife, with brass knuckles on each hand.
Hassan pleaded guilty after learning prosecutors planned to introduce evidence of additional offenses at his trial.
The motion said Hassan had used the brass knuckles/knife combination on another man the same day of the murder. In that incident, Hassan allegedly damaged the man’s vehicle with the brass knuckles and chased him “in a threatening manner,” the document said.
Hassan believed that victim’s brother had reported him for driving under the influence of marijuana a week earlier.
He will serve his sentence at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud.