A teenager who severely beat former Hennepin County board chairman Mark Andrew at the Mall of America last year won’t go to jail for her crime – and he’s glad she won’t.

Eighteen-year-old Deea LeShawn Elliot pleaded guilty to first-degree assault for attacking Andrew with a metal baton last December after her accomplice stole his cell phone. A judge on Tuesday sentenced her to 14 weeks of intensive counseling and a year-long immersion in an arts program of her choice. She won’t go to jail if she meets those conditions.

A one-time Democrat Minneapolis mayoral candidate was beaten up by two teen girls at the Mall of America after his iPhone was stolen by a third accomplice, reports say.

Mark Andrew, a former Minnesota Democrat Party chairman and recent losing candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, was in a Starbucks at the gigantic mall when the incident occurred.

Andrew told the media that he had just finished a call and placed his iPhone 4S on the table when a young man came up to the table, grabbed the phone, and ran. Andrew gave chase immediately but was quickly confronted by two teenaged girls just outside the coffee shop.

One of the girls was armed with a billy club and began to smack Andrew over the head with the stick.

The former politician said he grabbed one of the girls who then gouged her fingernails into his face screaming, “I’m going to kill you! Let me go or I’m going to kill you.”

Andrew says that dozens of shoppers were standing around watching but no one moved to help.

Police arrived soon enough to catch the two girls who initially tried to claim that Andrew attacked them first. Witness told police another story and the two were taken into custody.

The male thief dropped the cell phone in an attempt to get away and Andrew got his phone back.

Police arrested Letaija Shapree Cutler-Cain, 18, and a 17-year-old accomplice whose name was not released because she is a minor.

“In my estimation, these kids are damaged,” Andrew told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “They have to be held accountable. The juvenile may be too far gone. She was extremely violent. I believe she was trying to kill me, and her actions supported her statement. She was swinging as hard as she could.”

Andrew, who currently owns an environmental marketing firm called GreenMark, received nine stitches for a gash on his head. He also sustained several cuts and abrasions on his face.

“I was targeted because the phone was out and I’m 63 years old, and I’m sure they thought that I was easy pickins,” Andrew said.

The runner-up in the Minneapolis mayoral election is recovering after being robbed and brutally beaten Thursday night at the Mall of America.

Mark Andrew, 63, was at a Starbucks inside the mall at around 7 p.m. Thursday when a man grabbed his phone off his table and ran off.

When Andrew went after him, he was tackled by two teenage girls – aged 18 and 17 — one of which began beating him with a billy club. During the attack, they told Andrew, “We’re going to kill you,” police say.

Andrew was left with a large gash on his head that required nine stitches. He has since been released from the hospital.

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