Attorney General’s Office and Isanti County Attorney’s Office secure guilty pleas following December 2023 burglary and murder

Abraham Alexander Houle pled guilty to 1st degree burglary and aiding an offender after the fact – 2nd degree murder

May 19, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office secured guilty pleas from Abraham Alexander Houle for his role in the armed burglary and cover-up of the December 2023 murder of Jose De Jesus Diaz Fernandes on a ranch in Spencer Brook Township, Minnesota. The Isanti County district court will sentence Houle for these crimes on August 4, 2025. 

On December 13, 2023, Houle and two other individuals dressed as police officers and burglarized a Spencer Brook Township ranch which was a purported drug stash house. During the burglary, a codefendant shot and killed Jose De Jesus Diaz Fernandes.  At the plea hearing, Houle admitted he dressed like a police officer and participated in the burglary, drove the getaway vehicle, and lied about the murder to law enforcement officers to impede their investigation. The burglary turned homicide was coordinated by codefendant Fredy Saavedra Olivar, who was sentenced in February 2025 for his role in the crimes. Two remaining defendants are pending trial.

Attorney General Ellison’s office prosecuted Houle upon a referral from Isanti County Attorney Jeff Edblad under Minnesota Statutes Sec. 8.01, which provides, “Upon request of the county attorney, the attorney general shall appear in court in such criminal cases as the attorney general deems proper.”

“Today, my thoughts are with the victim’s family and all those impacted by this senseless act of violence,” said Attorney General Keith Ellison. “My thanks go to the team that secured these convictions, to the agencies that investigated these crimes, and to Isanti County Attorney Jeff Edblad for entrusting my office with this case. I made it a priority to expand the Criminal Division of my office to tackle important cases like these. My team and I will continue working to improve public safety across Minnesota by taking cases like these, supporting local law enforcement, and prosecuting people who pose a danger to their communities.”

Attorney General Ellison thanks the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the East Central Drug and Violent Offenders Task Force, the Washington County Drug Task Force, and the other law enforcement agencies who assisted in the investigation and prosecution of this case.