Murder charges: Urban gunfire, carjackings and two men shot at random near Willmar

A 25-year-old man, apparently angered over a dispute with his former girlfriend, went on a crime-filled tirade that started with him firing shots from a south Minneaplis apartment balcony before he fled police and fatally shot one man and wounded another in west-central Minnesota, according to charges filed Thursday.

Ameer M. Matariyeh, of Minneapolis, was charged in Kandiyohi County District Court with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and fleeing police in connection with Tuesday’s killing of Jerome Skluzacek, 55, of New London, and the shooting of Peter Mayerchak, 25, of Lake Lillian, at separate locations near Willmar. The charges said that Mayerchak works as a correctional officer for the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office.

Matariyeh was tracked down and arrested by law enforcement soon after Skluzacek was shot during an attempted carjacking. Matariyeh appeared in court late Thursday morning and remains jailed in lieu of $3.5 million bail. He’s due back in court on Nov. 25.

Defense attorney William Walker told the Star Tribune that “it is important that we wait and see the evidence before we rush to judgment. ... A man lost his life, but that doesn’t mean my client did it.”

Charges remain pending concerning the midday gunfire on Lyndale Avenue in south Minneapolis, where no one was wounded.

As for a motive behind the violent crime spree that stretched more than 100 miles, the criminal complaint noted that that Matariyeh commented moments after his arrest “about throwing his life away because a girl ... cheated on him.”

Additionally, the complaint continued, he mentioned to police negotiators in Minneapolis that “he wanted to go out by ‘suicide by cop.’ ”

On the day of the shooting on Lyndale Avenue, Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the gunfire occurred shortly after an altercation involving Matariyeh’s ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend. Matariyeh and the woman share a child, who was at day care at the time.

The complaint disclosed that Matariyeh also told Mayerchak during their encounter that he was going to shoot someone if he couldn’t talk to his daughter.

According to the complaint:

At 1:53 p.m., an armed Matariyeh was in a car he stole at gunpoint and driving near Cosmos in Meeker County on Hwy. 7 with an officer following him. Officers in the area were alerted that Matariyeh also might have taken another vehicle at gunpoint earlier in Carver County.

Matariyeh showed up about 2 p.m. at a farm home in Lake Lillian southeast of Willmar, where a 911 caller said Mayerchak had just been shot in he chest. Mayerchak made his way to a first-floor bedroom, where he received emergency medical attention before being taken by air ambulance to HCMC.

Mayerchak’s wife told a sheriff’s captain that her husband and Matariyeh had been arguing outside. Seconds later, a wounded Mayerchak came in the home and directed his wife to get a gun. In the meantime, Matariyeh drove off after having fired at least a half-dozen shots.

Officers positioned to intercept Matariyeh speeding through the countryside spotted him driving by and talking on his cellphone. Multiple law enforcement squads gave chase. While in pursuit, OnStar was notified by law enforcement to disable the vehicle Matariyeh was driving.

As the chase kept going at speeds well above 100 mph, he told Minneapolis police on the phone that he wanted police to kill him.

While officers were closing in on Matariyeh, he hit a pickup truck from behind at the Hwy. 71 and Hwy. 23 bypass southeast of Willmar. Matariyeh walked toward the pickup and shot Skluzacek sitting in the driver’s seat. He died at the scene.

Matariyeh started running, but his flight was brief. Officers arrested him, and his discarded gun was recovered nearby.

Minnesota court records show nothing in the Matariyeh’s background that would hint at the violence his is accused of perpetrating within a few hours’ time. His criminal history includes a minor drug paraphernalia conviction and numerous parking and driving violations.