JURY TRIAL STARTS IN RENVILLE COUNTY MURDER

A jury trial starts today (Tuesday) in Renville County District Court for a Renville man accused of murdering another man in Renville almost four years ago.  The Minnesota Supreme Court ordered 28-year-old Julian Valdez be retried for the shooting death of 31-year-old Pablo Gutierrez.  Valdez was convicted of killing Gutierrez outside of his home in August 2021.  Valdez said he thought Gutierrez was assaulting Valdez’s  step-brother.  Before the case went to the jury, Judge Laurence Stratton told the jury that Valdez had a duty to retreat from danger before using force to defend another.  The Court of Appeals ruled that this specific instruction was an error and may have impacted the verdict rendered by the jury.  The Supreme Court agreed and ordered a new trial to start today (Tuesday).