Several witnesses watched the bar fight closely, and they got your plates as they watched him flee after he pumped four bullets into the head of the unarmed victim.

2016-M-328         State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Shavelle Oscar Chavez-Nelson, Appellant.

THE BACKGROUND: After 1:00 a.m. on September 22, 2013, Chavez-Nelson and Palagor Obang Jobi engaged in an extended argument in front of several witnesses.  Jobi was very intoxicated, with a .26 blood-alcohol content.  Finally, Chavez-Nelson pulled a gun.

Chavez-Nelson fired nine shots.  Six of the shots hit Jobi in the back.  Two of the shots hit Jobi from the front in his waist and his forehead. After a pause of at least 15 seconds, Chavez-Nelson stood over Jobi’s body and fired four shots into the back of his head.  Chavez-Nelson fled, but was captured after a car chase several days later.

On October 24, 2013, a grand jury indicted Chavez-Nelson on charges of first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder.  After a jury trial, Chavez-Nelson was found guilty of all counts and sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder conviction.

THIS APPEAL:  On this direct appeal, the Supreme Court upheld Chavez-Nelson’s conviction and sentence.

First, the district court erred when it denied appellant’s request to have advisory counsel assume full representation of his case, but the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

Second, the district court did not commit errors that, either individually or cumulatively, deprived appellant of his right to a fair trial.

Third, appellant was not prejudiced by the district court’s refusal to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense of first-degree manslaughter.

Fourth, appellant’s supplemental pro se claims were without merit.

Anderson (Gildea, Dietzen, Stras, Lillehaug, and Hudson)

               Took No Part:  Chutich.

               [CRIME] [MURDER] [PREMEDITATED] [FIRST-DEGREE]

Date: July 06, 2016