Attorney General’s Office and Isanti County Attorney’s Office secure convictions following December 2023 home invasion homicide

Jury convicts Jessie Mateo Rodrigues of felony murder in the second degree and two counts of burglary in the first degree

March 25, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, after a jury trial lasting more than 3 weeks, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office has secured the conviction of Jessie Mateo Rodrigues for felony murder in the second degree and two counts of burglary in the first degree following a December 2023 burglary and killing of Jose De Jesus Diaz Fernandes on a ranch in Spencer Brook Township, Minnesota. Codefendant Fredy Saavedra Olivar was previously convicted after a trial for his role in the same incident, and codefendants Abraham Alexander Houle and Gerald (a/k/a “Jerold”) Allen Downs pleaded guilty and were sentenced in 2025.

On December 12-13, 2023, Rodrigues and two other individuals burglarized a Spencer Brook Township ranch (a purported drug stash house). During the burglary, Rodrigues shot and killed Jose Fernandes. Rodrigues then fled with his coconspirators, concealed evidence, and lied to police about the circumstances of the crimes.

Attorney General Ellison’s office prosecuted Rodrigues upon a referral from Isanti County Attorney Jeff Edblad under Minnesota Statutes section 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 authority vested in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is primarily civil.  Aside from referrals submitted under section 8.01 and Medicaid fraud, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office does not have prosecuting authority over most criminal acts. That authority generally rests with city and county attorneys.

“My team and I continue working to improve public safety by prosecuting dangerous individuals who harm their fellow Minnesotans,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Today’s conviction of Jessie Rodrigues marks the conclusion of the prosecutions stemming from the appalling 2023 burglary and homicide in Spencer Brook Township. I’m grateful to the law enforcement agencies that worked alongside my office to secure today’s conviction, and I will continue to do everything in my power to hold violent offenders accountable.”

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, and the Washington County Drug Task Force, who assisted in the investigation and successful prosecution of this crime.