OFFICIALS: KILLING METH-RELATED

With his hands bound with nylon cord, Richard Jurgensen was shot multiple times at close range in what is being described as an execution-style slaying. 
Those chilling details were revealed for the first time in court documents against two men charged in the murder of Jurgensen, 22, of Medford. Authorities are calling it a drug-related homicide between all parities involved, including the victim. 
“It’s very shocking and an unexpected thing,” said Daniel McIntosh, Steele County attorney. “This seems like something that would happen somewhere else. A lot of people are shaken up by it.”
McIntosh has charged Cyrus Noel Trevino, 24, of Owatonna with one count of second-degree murder and Gerald William Blevins, 36, of Bemidji with one count of aiding and abetting murder in the second-degree. 
Sheriff Lon Thiele said Blevins has family members around Owatonna, Faribault and Wisconsin and has often frequented those areas. 
Trevino and Blevins made their initial court appearances Thursday morning at the Steele County Detention Center. Court hearings are generally held at the courthouse, but for safety reasons, court staff kept the suspects in the secured jail without taking a chance of something happening in transport. 
Judge Karen Duncan ordered Trevino held on bail of $2 million without conditions and $1.5 million with conditions while Blevins’ bail was set at $1 million without conditions and $750,000 with conditions. 
About 35 people attended the hearings in a standing room only observation area located outside of the jail’s courtroom. Tensions ran high as members of both families sparred at each other and things nearly erupted into a brawl as they left the courtroom. 
“There’s two sides to every story,” a Trevino family member yelled as he got angry when leaving the courtroom. At one point, the family member grabbed onto a sheriff’s deputy and began yelling. After some shoving back and forth, the situation was quickly diffused without any further incident. 
Orlando Trevino, a cousin of the alleged shooter, said outside the court hearing he believes authorities have the wrong person and that Trevino’s alleged accomplice, Blevins, is the suspected killer.
But McIntosh says the evidence points differently. “They are supporting a family member and have not seen a fraction of the evidence,” the prosecutor said. 
The Killing
At about 1 a.m. on June 26, sheriff’s deputies responded to a dead body along a gravel road on 34th Avenue NE near 46th Street NE in Merton Township located about four miles northeast of Owatonna. 
Deputies found Jurgensen had been shot multiple times and his hands were bound with yellow nylon cord. A single 9mm cartridge was collected from the gravel several feet from Jurgensen’s body, according to court documents. More 9mm cartridges were found in tall grass in the ditch adjacent to his body. 
McIntosh said it’s believed Jurgensen had been shot to death up to four hours prior to being found by a passing motorist.  He added investigators are looking for a 9mm handgun as no weapon has been recovered to this point. 
The Investigation
Investigators began with a preliminary search of Jurgensen’s cell phone indicating his last contact was with Trevino. Multiple witnesses, including Trevino’s mother, confirmed that Jurgensen was with Trevino on the day prior to his body being found. Witnesses also told police that Jurgensen had driven Trevino’s car throughout the day. 
What has emerged in the days after the murder is a complex and complicated web of drug activity involving all parties. Court records outline a lengthy history of drug abuse and a weapons violation with many people connected in this case, including Jurgensen. 
“Everyone, including the victim, were heavy meth users,” McIntosh said. “That was the sub-culture they were all part of. It was a factor and undercurrent for everything that happened. There was a lot of meth use going on.”
In regards to criminal cases like this homicide, it’s not uncommon for victims to have their own issues, McIntosh noted. However, he stressed, “He did not deserve to be shot on the side of the road.”
A relative of Trevino’s and a woman were arrested with one kilogram of methamphetamine back in March in Steele County. At the time, the woman referred to Jurgensen as the person who snitched on her. 
Trevino’s relatives and friends all believed that Jurgensen was a police informant and that ultimately played a major role leading up to his alleged murder, according to McIntosh. However, the county attorney stressed that Jurgensen did not work with police.
“They had bad information,” McIntosh said. “It was not true that (Jurgensen) was a police informant. Assumptions were made leading to a conclusion that was faulty,” he added.
The suspicion of Jurgensen being an informant was fueled by his own arrest on March 24 when he was charged with fifth-degree possession of a controlled  substance and illegal possession of a firearm. At the time, Jurgensen posted bail and was released. 
A few months later a woman acquainted with Trevino’s relatives was arrested for possession of meth in Owatonna. It was after that arrest when Trevino’s group suspected Jurgensen was working with police to receive some benefit from his March arrest. But, authorities say, this belief was not accurate.
Witnesses Help Out
Police investigators interviewed several witnesses after Jurgensen’s body was found. All six witnesses are known to law enforcement with some of them being confidential police informants. None of them had anything to do with Jurgensen’s death, court records show. 
One of the witnesses, the complaint alleges, reported Trevino had a handgun on the evening prior to Jurgensen’s death and he referred to Jurgensen as a “snitch.” The witness also told police that Trevino made statements specifically linking Jurgensen to the seizure of meth from his relative and vowed to find out who snitched on him. Trevino also made statements that he would handle everyone who has been snitching, the witness said.
Other witnesses claimed that Trevino had a black handgun tucked into his waistband on the day Jurgensen was killed. 
Investigators found a notebook called “Cyrus Book” in Trevino’s bedroom. In the notebook, Trevino is believed to have written a letter to his kids saying in part, “I’m gonna rule the underground world. I’ll take it and its gonna be bloody and many will be getting hurt.”
Another witness came forward reporting a phone conservation he overheard between a woman and Blevins. During the call, Blevins stated, “I took him out, he got what he deserved,” court documents allege.
During an interview with police, Blevins admitted being with Trevino and Jurgensen on the gravel road where Jurgensen’s body was eventually found. Blevins told police Trevino used a piece of rope to bind Jurgensen’s hands. The complaint said Blevins reported Trevino then shot Jurgensen at point blank range in the chest. After Jurgensen fell, Trevino allegedly fired more rounds in his head, Blevins told investigators. 
Blevins said that after Trevino allegedly shot Jurgensen in the head, he said “snitches end up in ditches, bitches.” 
What’s Ahead?
The county attorney says the investigation is on-going and search warrants are still being drafted in an effort to collect additional evidence.
“We keep reviewing the evidence as it comes in,” McIntosh said, adding it’s possible there could be additional arrests in this case.
McIntosh admitted the case probably took a little longer than the victim’s family may have wanted, but he is “very pleased” with the progress and diligence of the investigators. He noted that eight investigators between the sheriff’s office, drug task force and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension have been working on the case around the clock since Jurgensen’s body was discovered. 
Blevins will make his next court appearance July 14 while Trevino is due back in court July 18.
McIntosh says he is also considering convening a grand jury to consider indicting the suspects on more serious charges of first-degree murder, which carries a life in prison sentence.