Supreme Court Affirms Conviction in Officer’s Death

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of the man imprisoned for fatally shooting a Mendota Heights police officer and trying to kill the officers who arrested him.

Brian Fitch argued that he should have had two trials instead of one. Officer Scott Patrick was killed on July 14, 2014 in West St. Paul. Fitch was arrested eight hours later in St. Paul following a shootout with officers.

The crimes took place in two different counties, but Fitch's trial was consolidated with a grand jury drawn from both Dakota and Ramsey counties. The high court said Fitch was not prejudiced by the court's refusal to sever the first-degree murder charge from the other charges.