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Minnesota Attorney General's Office recommends overturning conviction in 2008 drive-by shooting
https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-attorney-generals-office-recommends-overturning-life-sentence-in-2008-drive-by-shooting/601127933The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office Conviction Review Unit has concluded after a three-year investigation that a man sent to prison for life without parole in 2009 was wrongfully convicted and should be freed.
Edgar Barrientos was convicted by a Hennepin County jury on eight counts of first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting death of 18-year-old Jesse Leon Omar Mickelson, a student at Minneapolis Roosevelt High School who was playing football in the alley behind his house when he was killed in 2008. Barrientos was 26 years old when he was sentenced.
(snip)
In a scathing review of the case, the CRU blamed Minneapolis police, Hennepin County prosecutors and Barrientos’ defense team for a “confluence of errors” that led to a wrongful conviction. They argue that “because his conviction lacks integrity, the CRU recommends that his conviction be vacated, and the charges dismissed.”
(snip)
The two police investigators involved in the case were Robert Dale and Christopher Gaiters. Gaiters is currently one of the second-highest ranking officers of the Minneapolis Police Department, serving as assistant chief of community trust. Dale retired in 2023 as a homicide sergeant.
Emphasis mine. What a gong show that department is.Edgar Barrientos was convicted by a Hennepin County jury on eight counts of first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting death of 18-year-old Jesse Leon Omar Mickelson, a student at Minneapolis Roosevelt High School who was playing football in the alley behind his house when he was killed in 2008. Barrientos was 26 years old when he was sentenced.
(snip)
In a scathing review of the case, the CRU blamed Minneapolis police, Hennepin County prosecutors and Barrientos’ defense team for a “confluence of errors” that led to a wrongful conviction. They argue that “because his conviction lacks integrity, the CRU recommends that his conviction be vacated, and the charges dismissed.”
(snip)
The two police investigators involved in the case were Robert Dale and Christopher Gaiters. Gaiters is currently one of the second-highest ranking officers of the Minneapolis Police Department, serving as assistant chief of community trust. Dale retired in 2023 as a homicide sergeant.