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Conviction Review Unit looking at deadly 2008 drive-by shooting
Edgar Barrientos-Quintana was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 18-year-old Jesse Mickelson.
MINNEAPOLIS — In the alley right behind the Roosevelt High School football field in Minneapolis, back in October 2008, 18-year-old Jesse Mickelson was killed in a drive-by shooting.
“He’s just innocent, it just makes me sick to my stomach,” his sister, Tina Rosebear, told KARE 11 News at that time.
Mickelson was a high school senior and an aspiring musician who had plans to study music production after graduating from Roosevelt High.
“We heard him through his music. He was a whole other person. He went from shy, quiet Jesse, who never said anything, to ‘Wow, where did this come from?'” Rosebear said.
On that October night, Mickelson was at a family member’s birthday party, playing football out back, when witnesses say a white car drove up and a passenger started firing at another group, hitting Jesse in the process.
The case, which was featured on the A&E show “The First 48” involved several people now in big positions. Detective Chris Gaiters is now an assistant chief with the Minneapolis Police Department. And the Assistant Hennepin County Attorney on the case, Hillary Caligiuri, is now a judge.
Caligiuri successfully prosecuted and convicted Edgar Barrientos-Quintana of first-degree murder. He’s now serving life in prison. But according to court filings, the Attorney General Office’s Conviction Review Unit is fully reviewing the case, and sources with knowledge of it have told KARE 11 News that a decision and recommendation could be coming very soon.
The First 48 showed MPD identifying the suspect from a witness who knew him by his gang nickname “Smokey.” Other witnesses identified Barrientos-Quintana in photo lineups.
MPD then arrested Barrientos-Quintana and questioned him. On The First 48, the detectives grow even more confident when his alibi doesn’t check out.
“It’s not looking so good for Smokey. She says he was there the whole time except for a four-hour span that coincides with the time of the murder. She also believes he was in Minneapolis at that time,” Sgt. Robert Dale told the cable TV program.
Now, 15 years after Barrientos-Quintana was convicted, his attorneys are hoping questions they have raised about memory and eyewitness testimony will help the Conviction Review Unit conclude Barrientos-Quintana is not guilty.
According to a report made by a defense expert on eyewitness identification, “the shooter was uniformly described by witnesses as a Hispanic man with a bald/shaved head”
But Barrientos-Quintana had a full head of hair when he was arrested 11 days after the shooting.
“The people that identified him and gave his name were not strangers. They knew him,” said Mickelson’s cousin Paula Saxton.
Saxton said Jesse’s family still firmly believes Barrientos-Quintana is guilty.
“There’s no evidence of innocence that has been presented so we’re hoping that they are going to just let it be. let him do his time,” Paula Saxton said.
If the Conviction Review Unit makes a recommendation favorable to the defendant, Edgar Barrientos-Quintana, the Hennepin County Attorney gets a chance to weigh in whether they agree or not before the judge decides what to do.
The council argues that the HERC must be closed to comply with the city’s zero waste policy, which was passed back in 2017.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a plan to shut down the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) on Thursday.
The resolution comes after decades of protests against the massive North Loop trash incinerator that burns roughly 365,000 tons of garbage a year.
“Today is a big step towards protecting the health of our communities and addressing longstanding environmental injustices that disproportionately impact communities of color,” said councilmember Robin Wonsley, in a statement.
The resolution calls for the incinerator to be permanently closed by Dec 31, 2027 and for the entire facility to be shut down by Dec 31, 2033.
The council argues that the HERC must be closed to comply with the city’s zero waste policy, which was passed back in 2017.
In October 2023, the Hennepin County Board signed off on a plan to close the HERC between 2028 and 2040, depending on how quickly the county can transition into a zero-waste system.
Of the garbage burned at the HERC, 75% comes from the city of Minneapolis. The other 25% comes from a dozen other cities in the area. The HERC produces enough energy to power more than 25,000 homes and half the buildings in downtown Minneapolis.
At a City Council Meeting on Oct. 10, Jenni Lansing with the City of Minneapolis Health Department provided analysis on the air pollution impacts of HERC. She said the health department supports working towards a zero-waste future and the ultimate closure of HERC, but said closing it now is not the solution.
“Overall emissions in Hennepin County are dominated by on-road and non-road, mobile and nonpoint sources, and these sources drive the cancer and non-cancer risks to health in Minneapolis,” Lansing said.
Hennepin County defines zero waste as preventing 90% or more of all discarded materials from being landfilled or incinerated.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The snow is really coming down in some places with Maple Lake getting 3.5″ so far.
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — The wettest Halloween storm ever — is making mischief before little trick-or-treaters hit their neighborhood’s slushy streets.
Officials are reporting several power outages and car spin-outs.
There have been over 14,000 power outages, according to Xcel Energy.
The Minnesota State Patrol has responded to 169 crashes and 94 vehicles off the road, as of 2. pm. Thursday.
Meteorologist Beny Dery said an additional 1 to 2″ of snow is possible before things taper off this evening.
So far some of the totals around town are: 3.5″ Maple Lake, 3.0″ Buffalo, 2.5″ Dassel, 2.4″ Windom, 2.0″ St. Bonifacious, 1.5″ Maple Plain and 1.5″ in Bethel.
The snow is expected to let up from west to east and should wrap up for the metro between 5 to 6 p.m.
Last week, prosecutors charged John Sawchak with attempted 2nd-degree murder and other felony charges after he allegedly shot his neighbor Davis Moturi.
MINNEAPOLIS — Following the shooting between two neighbors, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to request that the city’s auditor conduct an independent investigation into the incidents and cases between Davis Moturi and John Sawchak.
Moturi was allegedly shot by his neighbor, Sawchak, on Wednesday, Oct. 23 but Minneapolis police did not arrest Sawchak until days later.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara defended not arresting Sawchak sooner, calling it a “high-risk” situation. O’Hara later said the victim, who had complained about harassment from Sawchak for months, was failed by police. Sawchak was arrested this past weekend after an hours-long standoff.
Moturi suffered a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion in the shooting. “Mr. Moturi’s life matters and I’m sorry that for nearly a year, MPD did not treat it like it did,” said Council Member Robin Wonsley in a news release, “Today’s vote affirms that the City Council is committed to taking meaningful actions towards accountability and restoration, starting with this independent review.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released this statement:
“Mayor Frey fully supports an independent review of this incident. The mayor and City are committed to always doing better, and this means closely examining past actions and finding where there may be ways to improve and grow. The mayor extends his condolences to Davis Moturi, his wife, Caroline, and their family and friends. The safety of our residents is a top priority and any form of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and does not align with who we are as a community. Brian O’Hara will continue to be the Minneapolis Police Chief.”
