A Plymouth man quoted Martin Luther King on Wednesday before he was sentenced to four years for stabbing his brother in the heart during an argument over rent money.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy," said Garrett B. Ittel, 26, citing King.

Ittel told Hennepin County District Judge Shereen Askalani he would never forget the moment his 27-year-old brother died in his arms.

On Jan. 9, Garrett and Jamison Ittel had been drinking in their apartment when they started arguing about rent money, the charging documents said.

Garrett Ittel told police he got a knife from a dresser drawer and stabbed his brother in the chest. Then, he told police, "I chased him down and stabbed him again," the criminal complaint read.

The men's mother, Dona Ittel, told investigators that both her sons called her to tell her they were fighting. She had advised them to go to their separate rooms for the night.

Jamison Ittel

Jamison Ittel called their mother back and said he had been stabbed. He grabbed a blanket from the couch, left the apartment and headed toward the front steps of the apartment building.

Dona Ittel called 911. Police arrived after midnight at the Stoneleigh at the Reserve complex in the 5300 block of Annapolis Lane and found Garrett standing over his brother's body.

In court, Dona Ittel said her family is broken. She said the brothers were best friends and the stabbing was a horrible accident.

With credit for time spent in jail, Garrett Ittel will serve roughly the first 2¼ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482