A judge has sentenced a 48-year-old Bloomington man to nearly five decades in prison and supervised release for fatally shooting his wife at their home and wounding neighbors late last summer.
Jason M. Mesich was sentenced Monday by Hennepin County District Judge Hilary Caligiuri to 48 years after he pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder for the death of his wife, 47-year-old Angela Mesich, on Aug. 30. He also admitted to attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault for wounding a woman and her teenage sister.
With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Mesich will serve about 32 years in prison and the balance on supervised release. He will be in his early 80s by the time he leaves prison.
Police arrested Mesich after a three-hour standoff that was punctuated with gunfire from inside the home in the 8300 block of S. 15th Avenue.
Mesich said he emptied his semiautomatic handgun and shot his wife 12 times in the garage of their home. He also shot 29-year-old Canisha Saulter and her 13-year-old sister, Makayla Saulter-Outlaw, because he feared they heard him kill his wife.
Makayla was hailed as a hero for shielding her niece Winnie, Saulter's 1-year-old daughter, from the gunfire. Makayla was hospitalized for more than two months with wounds to the back of her head.
Mesich also received an 11-year term for shooting at police. That time will run concurrently with his sentence on the other charges.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
