Two men have pleaded guilty to separate murders in Minneapolis, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Tuesday.

Quanan Lee Machacek, 26, of Minneapolis, pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder and was immediately sentenced to life without parole for a fatal stabbing he committed on Sept. 10.

Joshua Ford, 17, of Minneapolis, pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in a fatal shooting that began on a Metro Transit bus on July 24. He will be sentenced Oct. 27.

Machacek's case was unusual because of the speed with which it was resolved and the fact that he was willing to plead guilty to first-degree murder instead of trying to strike a deal to plead to a slightly lesser murder charge, the county attorney's office said.

In his hearing Tuesday, Machacek said little, but admitted he was looking for someone to kill Sept. 10. According to the criminal complaint, Cody Rasche, 25, was walking with his girlfriend around 9:30 p.m. at the Little Earth Community when Machacek challenged him to come outside the fence and fight.

At first, the two men just yelled at each other, but eventually Rasche walked around the fence and the two started fighting. During the fight, Machacek pulled out a knife and stabbed Rasche several times in the neck.

In the second case, Ford and his friends got onto a Metro Transit bus about 7 p.m. at the stop at Penn and 26th Avenues N. Andrew Billingsley Jr., 38, confronted Ford and his friends at the front of the bus and argued with them over alleged harassment of his son. The bus driver saw Ford pull out a gun and tell Billingsley to get off the bus, which he did, according to the criminal complaint.

Ford ran out the bus' back door and began shooting at Billingsley, chasing him as he ran to a nearby gas station, where he collapsed, the complaint stated.

At his hearing Monday, Ford agreed to plead guilty and acknowledged aggravating circumstances, which allowed the judge to impose a sentence longer than those recommended in state guidelines. Ford is expected to be sentenced to nearly 34 years in prison, instead of the 26 years the guidelines recommend.

David Chanen • 612-673-4465