Minneapolis man gets 38 years for fatal shooting while on the run

WILLMAR Minn A Minneapolis man was sentenced to prison for more than years stemming from a crime spree that started with a domestic assault broadcasted at a Lyndale Avenue apartment in South Minneapolis and ended with a fatal shooting outside Willmar in west-central Minnesota Ameer Musa Matariyeh pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder in the killing of -year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London Matariyeh also pleaded guilty to attempted murder of another man from Lake Lillian whom he shot while fleeing police Matariyeh was sentenced Monday in Kandiyohi County District Court to the presumptive prison terms under state sentencing guidelines of months for second-degree murder and months for attempted second-degree murder The sentences will run consecutively totaling more than years He had already served days in jail credited toward the -month sentence SMALL FILE -- MAX WIDTH FOR PRINT INCH -- Ameer Musa Matariyeh of Minneapolis was in custody as of Tuesday Oct at the Kandiyohi County Jail in Willmar Minn What started as a Tuesday domestic assault at an apartment building in Minneapolis ended miles west of the metro area in a deadly shooting near Willmar with another gunshot victim near Lake Lillian On Wednesday leadership identified the fatally injured victim as Jerome Skluzacek of New London The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office mentioned in the news release that the injured victim identified as Peter Mayerchak of Lake Lillian was in stable condition and expected to survive Matariyeh was booked into the Kandiyohi County jail Tuesday and charged with murder and attempted murder on Thursday Charges are likely pending in Minneapolis as well Courtesy of the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office Before being sentenced Matariyeh read a letter of apology when given the opportunity to speak to the court He apologized to Skluzacek s family certain of whom observed Monday s hearing virtually saying he could not imagine the pain and loss of what they were going through and that he deeply regretted the actions he took that resulted in the man s death on Oct Matariyeh also apologized to the man he had shot in Lake Lillian who survived his injuries I thank God that you survived Matariyeh stated adding that no one deserved to go through what he put his casualties through on that day I hope you find it in your hearts to forgive me Matariyeh declared adding that if they could never forgive him he understood why Peace be upon all of you and may his soul rest in peace Matariyeh commented in reference to Skluzacek Matariyeh then apologized to his family as his father and mother were both in the courtroom in Willmar He then apologized to his infant daughter for effectively abandoning her as a aftermath of any sentence By the time you understand what I m saying in this letter I will have missed the majority pivotal years of your life he explained Just know that you did nothing wrong Matariyeh s lawyer William Walker had submitted Norgaard addendums to Mataryieh s guilty pleas in August Norgaard pleas are entered when a defendant asserts a loss of memory of the circumstances surrounding the charged offenses but agrees that the evidence is sufficient for a jury to find him guilty Norgaard pleas have no bearing on sentencing and are adjudicated the same as any other guilty plea In exchange for Matariyeh s plea Kandiyohi County prosecutors agreed to dismiss a felony first-degree assault charge and a felony charge of fleeing police in a motor van Walker argued Monday that Matariyeh be sentenced concurrently on the charges saying his client was very remorseful and did not make light of pleading guilty Walker added that in more than years of practice in various cases he observed Matariyeh to be the largest part consumed over taking responsibility for his actions even though he had no clear memory of what he did that day Nothing he can do will erase what happened Walker disclosed adding that there is no good outcome as a product of Monday s sentencing hearing describing the charged crimes as heinous and that the heavy task of determining an appropriate sentence for Matariyeh s crimes was now up to the court In response First Assistant Kandiyohi County Attorney Kristen Pierce noted that three statements from casualties were submitted to Judge Stephen Wentzell for review though none were read for the record She described Matariyeh s crimes as senseless saying Matariyeh had shot a man in Lake Lillian whom he had never met while he was merely outside his home performing routine chores She revealed Matariyeh had described problem negotiators over the phone If I don t see my daughter I m going to kill someone Pierce noted that after Matariyeh shot the man who fled inside his home Matariyeh continued shooting toward him and the home not knowing the man s wife was also inside Pierce declared Matariyeh even advised those on the phone that he had just killed someone when he got back into the truck and continued fleeing westbound Thankfully the man did survive she mentioned Unfortunately Mr Matariyeh was prosperous in his second attempt to kill someone Pierce announced After law enforcement requested that OnStar van connection services disable the conveyance in which Matariyeh was fleeing he got out of the car approached Skluzacek on the Highway find a way around outside Willmar and shot him Skluzacek was a bystander someone whom Matariyeh did not know Pierce stated There is no way for anyone to protect themselves from any random attacks such as these she revealed What s largest part concerning is that even in the presentence research he makes no mention of any of the casualties Pierce declared adding that the presentence review also proved that Matariyeh still would become angry when talking about his relationship with his daughter s mother and still blamed her for weighing on his mental physical condition Although Wentzell agreed to Pierce s arguments to deny defense motions for a lesser sentence he declined to issue the maximum allowable sentences Wentzell ordered the presumptive terms for each offense per Minnesota s sentencing guidelines Wentzell declared law enforcement officers did everything in their power that day to intervene and yet Matariyeh still persisted in his actions According to the criminal complaint Skluzacek was rear-ended by the motorcycle Matariyeh was driving in an apparent carjacking attempt to continue fleeing police He had been pursued for hours by law enforcement originally from Minneapolis Officers were about feet away from Matariyeh when they saw him shoot Skluzacek in the cabin of his pickup truck Matariyeh then threw the gun into a ditch along Highway just outside the city of Willmar According to the complaint he then fled on foot and shortly before he was arrested officers could hear him telling someone on the phone that police were going to kill him and he didn t want to die In Minnesota convicted offenders must serve at least two-thirds of their sentence in custody before being considered for supervised release of any remaining time According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections Matariyeh will not be eligible for parole for at least another years Matariyeh s expected release date from prison is March His sentence will expire on Jan Related Articles Former Minneapolis educator and coach sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting children Dismissal of Comey James cases won t be the final word Here s what the path ahead may look like New limits for a rent algorithm that prosecutors say let landlords drive up prices Assessment revives alleges Minnesota fraud funded terrorists Here s what we know Wisconsin woman in Slender Man stabbing is uncovered a day after walking away from group home