Anthony J. Cox, 22, was convicted Monday in Scott County of first-degree premeditated murder in the death last October of Aaron J. Moran. He was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.
Moran, 32, was shot four times in his home in Shakopee on Oct. 22, 2013, while his 15-year-old nephew watched. Cox's friend, Brooks E. Kurr, 37, was a former co-worker of Moran and believed Moran singled him out for discipline at Affordable Town Car. Kurr was fired in September 2013 after a failed drug test.
Court documents said Kurr went to Moran's house about a month before his death to confront Moran. Another employee who had trouble with Kurr reported a robbery at his home two weeks later.
It's not clear why Cox went to Moran's house and shot him. The nephew told police that Cox stole a backpack before he fled the house. Police tracked Cox's and Kurr's cellphones and found the two on Oct. 26. Cox told police that Kurr had driven him back to Shakopee to retrieve the stolen backpack. Cox initially denied knowing about the homicide, but later said he had killed Moran.
Kurr, of Annandale, has pleaded to aiding and abetting unintentional second-degree murder and testified for the prosecution in Cox's trial. Kurr has not been sentenced.
Pat Pheifer
