Minneapolis man’s murder conviction vacated after 16 years; state to review police department’s handling of case

By Adam Duxter and David Schuman

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    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — After more than a decade behind bars, Edgar Barrientos-Quintana is a free man. He had been serving a life sentence for a murder the county’s top prosecutor now says he didn’t commit.

“You know it’s going to happen. The system is so slow. It’s going to happen. You just don’t know when,” Barrientos-Quintana said.

In 2008, camera crews from the TV show “First 48” followed the south Minneapolis murder of 18-year-old Jesse Mickelson, tracking Minneapolis Police Department detectives until they arrested Barrientos-Quintana.

A 130-page report from Minnesota’s Conviction Review Unit found the detective, then-Minneapolis police Sgt. Christopher Gaiters, coerced witnesses, did not disclose evidence at trial and fabricated parts of the episode entirely.

The judge wrote Gaiters “repeatedly lied” to Barrientos-Quintana, and while testifying at the trial, he “either forgot one of the most relevant facts from the start of the investigation, or he perjured himself to try to convict Mr. Barrientos-Quintana.”

Last summer, Gaiters was named to a new position: assistant chief of community trust.

“We know that people make mistakes, we all do. The criminal justice system makes mistakes. Sometimes mistakes slip through the cracks of our legal system,” said Carrie Sperling, director of the Conviction Review Unit of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.

In a ruling vacating Barrientos-Quintana’s convictions and ordering his release, state court Judge John McBride found that Barrientos-Quintana did not receive a fair trial.

Barrientos-Quintana’s attorney failed to effectively represent him and prosecutors didn’t disclose favorable evidence, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. Investigators also used coercive lineup tactics and interrogation tactics, resulting in unreliable eyewitness identifications, she added.

Security footage captured Barrientos-Quintana at a grocery store shortly before the shooting, and the attorney general’s office pointed to phone records not presented at trial that placed him at his girlfriend’s suburban apartment shortly after the shooting. The Conviction Review Unit determined that he could not have traveled to and from the crime scene at that time.

The reviewers also cast blame on police, who showed an old photo of Barrientos-Quintana with a shaved head to eyewitnesses who had described the suspect as being bald. Security footage showed Barrientos-Quintana had short, dark hair at the time of the shooting.

“Nothing can give Mr. Barrientos-Quintana back those 16 years, and for that we are so sorry,” Moriarty said. “When the criminal legal system does not function ethically, it causes significant harm. Harm to the accused, who in this case, spent 16 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.”

The state’s Conviction Review Unit says it has taken a second look at more than a thousand cases so far. This is just the third time it’s recommended a case be overturned.

In September, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said he was confident that the investigators in Mickelson’s case acted with the “utmost integrity,” and he backed Gaiters’ work after an internal review.

On Tuesday, O’Hara said in a statement to WCCO he’s asked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to take another look. He also continued his defense of Gaiters.

“I have come to know Assistant Chief Gaiters as a deeply dedicated and humble public servant. He is immensely qualified to serve as Assistant Chief of Community Trust and Engagement, and I am thankful he continues to serve our residents daily. He has my full support,” O’Hara said.

On Wednesday, Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette gave this statement to WCCO:

“I fully agree with Chief O’Hara’s decision to request this review of the investigative files by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension so we can learn more about what occurred more than a decade and a half ago. I have complete trust in Chief O’Hara and I am certain that he will see this process through. He has my support as BCA begins this review.”

Mickelson’s family stood in support of Barrientos-Quintana on Tuesday, saying they’re thankful he gets to be home for the holidays.

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