Inset: Emilio Ortiz (Scott County Jail). Background: The trailhead at the Wilkie Unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Shakopee, Minn. (Google Maps).
A Minnesota teenager has been jailed after authorities accused him of fatally shooting a man who was both his co-worker and, at times, his supervisor.
Emilio Vallejo Ortiz, 18, faces one count of second-degree murder in connection with the death of a 53-year-old landscaping business owner who employed him.
The case began Oct. 4, when passersby discovered the victim in a ditch beside a hiking trail in Wilkie Park in Shakopee, a city about 25 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
Police responding to the scene found the man roughly 30 feet from the trail, lying among weeds with dried blood on his face, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Minneapolis-based Fox affiliate KMSP and local ABC affiliate KSTP.
Investigators also said the victim appeared to have been dragged.
A large pool of blood, three spent 9 mm shell casings, one live 9 mm round and drag marks were found near the body, according to the charging document. An autopsy determined that the victim died after being shot four times.
Police later recovered a fourth casing about 150 feet from the main crime scene. Investigators said a group of hikers had picked it up and tossed it away from the trail.
Once the victim was identified, investigators searched his apartment and found evidence of damage. Police also learned that he had reported a burglary there the day before his body was discovered.
Neighbors reportedly told police that the victim owned a landscaping company and employed Ortiz. Authorities said the teenager had access to the man’s vehicles and sometimes stayed at his apartment.
The victim’s sister speculated to police that Ortiz and the man had been romantically involved. According to the complaint, Ortiz denied the claim after his arrest.
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Ortiz told investigators that the victim had dropped him at a shopping center that afternoon, police said. He also denied driving the man’s 2023 Ford Raptor that day.
Surveillance footage, however, appeared to show Ortiz behind the wheel of the Raptor, with the victim in the passenger seat. The video showed the pair stopping at a home improvement store, entering the store to purchase a door lock and returning to the vehicle together. Ortiz was again seen driving, police said.
About five minutes later, the victim’s cellphone registered its final location near the area where his body was found, according to the charging document. Investigators allege the phone did not move again until it was discovered off the park trail the following day.
Authorities also placed Ortiz’s phone inside the park for approximately 20 minutes, beginning around the time the victim’s phone sent its last location signal, according to the complaint.
When police confronted Ortiz with the surveillance footage and cellphone data, he allegedly responded that he “did not remember that day.”
He was arrested soon afterward.
In an interview, Ortiz again denied having a romantic relationship with the victim. He said he worked with the man during the week and for his landscaping business on weekends. Ortiz also denied owning a firearm.
Investigators later found the Raptor parked at an apartment about 1 mile from Ortiz’s home, according to the charging document. A key to the truck was discovered inside Ortiz’s residence.
During a search of Ortiz’s cellphone, police allegedly found a translated message that said: “Get me a Glock, buddy.”
The defendant is detained in the Scott County Jail on $2 million bail. He is slated to appear in court on Friday.
