A Bloomington man pleaded guilty Wednesday to fatally shooting his wife at their residence and wounding neighbors outside in a burst of gunfire late last summer.
32 years in prison awaits Bloomington man who fatally shot wife, wounded 2 neighbors
Plea deal means he won't leave prison until he's in his early 80s.
February 10, 2021 at 11:09PM
Jason Mesich, 48, admitted to second-degree murder for the death of his wife, 47-year-old Angela Mesich, on Aug. 30. He also pleaded guilty in Hennepin County District Court to attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault for wounding a woman and her teenage sister.
Police arrested Mesich after a three-hour standoff that was punctuated with volleys of gunfire from inside the home in the 8300 block of S. 15th Avenue.
The plea agreement calls for Mesich to receive a 48 ½-year term during sentencing on March 15. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Mesich is expected to serve the first 32 years in prison and the balance on supervised release. He'll be in his early 80s by the time he leaves prison.
Sporting a long gray and white beard, Mesich admitted that he emptied his semiautomatic handgun and shot his wife 12 times in the garage of their home.
He also admitted that he shot 29-year-old Canisha Saulter and her 13-year-old sister, Makayla Saulter-Outlaw, because he feared they heard him kill his wife.
Makayla has been hailed as a hero for shielding the gunfire from her niece Winnie, who is Saulter's 1-year-old daughter. Makayla suffered severe wounds to the back of her head and was hospitalized for more than two months.
Wednesday's plea deal also calls for Mesich to receive a term of more than 11 years for shooting at police, but that time will run concurrently with his sentence on the other charges.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
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