Man, 42, pleads guilty for role in Isanti County staged robbery that ended in a fatal shooting
A 42-year-old man has pleaded guilty for his role in a staged robbery in Isanti County that ended in a shooting that killed another man.
Court records show Abraham Alexander Houle of St. Paul pleaded guilty on Monday to one felony count each of aiding an offender, accomplice after the fact, and first-degree burglary with a dangerous weapon
The robbery and shooting happened during the morning of Dec. 13, 2023, in Spencer Brook Township.
Court documents say Saavedra Olivar of Northfield hired three men, including Houle, to rob a "stash house" that contained money and drugs. Olivar said he could get out of debt to a "cartel organization" by staging the robbery.
Olivar, Houle and the two other men, Jesse Rodrigues and Jerold Downs, entered the house dressed as police officers, charges say. Witnesses told police that one of the men held a gun to the head of someone in the house and attempted to tie him up when shots were fired.
Jose De Jesus Diaz Fernandes died in the shooting.
Houle was arrested in St. Paul one week after the incident. According to the criminal complaint, police found he had an abdominal injury "which resembled a gunshot wound" and was taken to the hospital.
Olivar was sentenced in February to 30-and-a-half years in prison for second-degree murder and first-degree burglary.
The trial for Rodrigues is set to begin on Aug. 11, according to court records, and a hearing for Downs is scheduled for July 17.
The charge against Houle of aiding an offender, accomplice after the fact, was amended from second-degree murder with intent, not premeditated, as part of the plea agreement. The deal also included the dismissal of one count each of second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony and first-degree burglary of an occupied dwelling.
