
Appeal Filed Over Light Sentence in Rochester Murder Case
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Prosecutors have filed an appeal of the sentence given to a Rochester man convicted of murder earlier this year.
A court filing in Olmsted County Court requests the forwarding of the trial court record, exhibits, and all transcripts concerning the Isaac Gutierrez case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The Rochester man was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder during the trial held last summer.
Gutierrez was arrested in early February 2024 after he fatally shot 24-year-old Osbel Orneals in the back of the head while the victim was fighting with Gutierrez's older brother in the parking lot at the Crossroads Shopping Center outside the Chick-fil-A restaurant. Witnesses reported that the fight broke out after the two men got into a dispute over a parking space.
According to the criminal complaint in the case, Rochester police officers responded to the scene and found Orneals lying on the pavement with a fatal gunshot wound to his head. The officers also found Gutierrez and his brother at the scene and both men claimed they were acting in self-defense.

The judge presiding over the case sentenced Gutierrez to five years in prison. The punishment is far shorter than the prison term recommended by state sentencing guidelines, which call for a sentence ranging from just over 10 years to 15 years in prison with a presumptive sentence of 12.5 years.
It's not yet known when the State Court of Appeals will consider the case.
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