Attorney General’s Office and Isanti County Attorney’s Office secure another guilty plea for December 2023 burglary turned homicide

Gerald (a/k/a “Jerold”) Allen Downs pled guilty to aiding and abetting 2nd degree murder

June 3, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office secured another guilty plea yesterday following a December 2023 burglary turned homicide in Spencer Brook Township, Minnesota. Gerald Allen Downs pled guilty to aiding and abetting 2nd degree intentional murder for his role in the death of Jose De Jesus Diaz Fernandes.  An Isanti County district court will sentence Downs for this crime on August 4, 2025. 

On December 13, 2023, Downs and two other individuals dressed as police officers and burglarized a Spencer Brook Township ranch, a purported drug stash house. During the burglary, a codefendant shot and killed Jose De Jesus Diaz Fernandes.  At the plea hearing, Downs stated he was “100% responsible” for the actions that led to Mr. Fernandes’s death. Downs admitted he participated in the crime, dressed as a police officer, kicked in the front door of the ranch, and fled with his codefendants after the shooting.  One remaining codefendant is pending trial.

Attorney General Ellison’s office prosecuted Downs 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.”

“The victim’s friends, family, and community are in my thoughts, and I hope this guilty plea helps bring them some measure of solace,” said Attorney General Ellison. “I am grateful to the team that secured this conviction, the agencies that investigated this crime, and to Isanti County Attorney Jeff Edblad for entrusting my office with this case. My team and I will continue working hard to prosecute those who violate the law and pose a danger to their fellow Minnesotans.”

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, and the Washington County Drug Task Force assisted in the investigation.