Conviction In Mendota Heights Officers Death Will Stand

Mendota Heights officer Scott Patrick was killed a little over two years ago while on a traffic stop.

After shooting Patrick, Brian Fitch fled and attempted to kill the officers that arrested him, nearly eight hours after the shooting of Patrick took place.

Two counties were involved in the prosecution of Fitch and so he argued that he should have had two trials instead of one. His trial was consolidated with a grand jury that represented Dakota and Ramsey counties.

The case was sent to the Minnesota Supreme Court to see if any prejudice was involved, because the prosecution was done that way. They came back with a ruling that said Fitch was not prejudiced by the court's refusal to sever the first-degree murder charge from the other charges, so the original conviction is upheld.