A 27-year-old man has received a sentence of more than 14 years for fatally shooting another man in a western Minnesota garage last summer.
Julian D. Valdez of Renville, Minn., was sentenced Wednesday in Renville County District Court to about 141⁄4 years after being found guilty in late May of second-degree unintentional murder in connection with the shooting in August 2021 of Pablo E. Gutierrez, 31, at a home in the 100 block of N. Main Street.
With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Valdez is expected to serve the first eight or so years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
According to the criminal complaint:
Valdez and his 25-year-old housemate were playing pool in the garage at their home. Gutierrez showed up, "indicating a desire to fight," the charges read.
In response, Valdez went into the home and retrieved a handgun. At some point, Gutierrez realized he was targeting the wrong person and calmed down. After about 90 minutes, however, Gutierrez lost his temper as they talked about the police shooting death in early July 2021 of Richard Torres Jr. in Olivia, Minn.
Gutierrez ignored orders to leave and threatened to kill the 25-year-old man, who broke a pool cue over Gutierrez's head. Gutierrez kept coming after the man.
Valdez told police that he heard his housemate say, "Please, brother, shoot him," the complaint read. Valdez's gunshot hit Gutierrez in the side. He died before emergency responders could get him to a hospital.
