Little Canada man convicted of first-degree manslaughter

Jurors convicted a Little Canada man Wednesday of first-degree manslaughter for pushing another man into an oncoming car in August, killing him.

Michael J. Merten III, 41, was acquitted of the two most serious charges filed against him in Ramsey County District Court — second-degree murder with intent and second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony.

Merten's attorney, Bruce Rivers, proposed the manslaughter count at the close of testimony Friday, an option available to defense attorneys. The crime carries a presumptive sentence of about six to eight years in prison for defendants with no criminal history.

The wife and son of Merten's victim, Robert Hilgren, 47, said Wednesday that Merten should have been convicted of the more serious crimes. "I think he deserved murder in the second degree," said Hilgren's wife, Loralei Hilgren.

Merten purposely timed the push so that Hilgren would be struck by an approaching SUV, said Loralei Hilgren, who witnessed the Aug. 20 incident.

Rivers has asserted Merten was acting in self-defense after Robert Hilgren followed him into the street. He said Wednesday that he'd seek a downward departure in Merten's sentence because Hilgren was the aggressor, and because Merten is amenable to probation.

The conviction is odd, Rivers said, because an element needed to convict on first-degree manslaughter — intent to commit bodily harm — is the same for felony murder.

Evidence at trial showed that Hilgren, his wife and their son, Preston Hilgren, were drinking with friends in a Little Canada trailer park on Rice Street just north of County Road B2 when the younger Hilgren and Merten became engaged in a conflict.

Both sides agreed the Hilgren men and Merten became embroiled in a fracas, and that Merten ran into the middle of Rice Street, followed by Robert Hilgren.

Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Rachel Kraker told jurors that Merten started the scuffle with Preston Hilgren and once in the middle of the road, intentionally called out to Robert Hilgren so he could end it.

Rivers said Preston Hilgren, who had been drinking and had used meth that day, started the fight and then called his father for backup, giving his client no avenue of escape.

Witnesses testified that Merten and Robert Hilgren bumped chests in the middle of the street, and that Merten pushed Robert Hilgren into the path of an oncoming car about 9:10 p.m. One witness said it appeared as if Robert Hilgren was about to punch Merten when he was pushed, while Loralei Hilgren and a motorist testified that it appeared as if Merten timed his push.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708