Mastermind of deadly ambush at Minnesota horse ranch by fake cops is given long prison sentence

A Twin Cities man has received a term topping 30 years for orchestrating a fake cop conspiracy that led to the murder of a robbery victim at a Minnesota horse ranch.

Fredy Saavedra Olivar, 41, of Northfield, was sentenced Wednesday in Isanti County District Court after jurors convicted him of two counts each of second-degree murder and first-degree burglary in connection with the killing on Dec. 13, 2023, of 42-year-old Jose De Jesus Diaz Fernandes at a ranch about 7 miles east of Princeton.

With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Saavedra Olivar is expected to serve the first 18¼ years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Also charged with the same counts for their alleged roles in the conspiracy are three men from St. Paul: Abraham A. Houle, 42; Jesse Mateo Rodrigues, 44; and Jerold A. Downs, 46. All remain in custody and have court appearances scheduled in the months ahead.

Prosecutors said Saavedra Olivar provided the men with a gun, drugs and the ranch’s address, then coordinated with them by phone moments before the crime and the subsequent shooting of Diaz Fernandes.

Four other people, including a 1-year-old, were in the ranch’s residence at the time.

“My heart goes out to Jose De Jesus Diaz Fernandes’ loved ones, and to all those who had to witness the crime orchestrated by Fredy Saavedra Olivar,” said a statement from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office prosecuted the case.

According to the complaints:

Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the ranch, which Ellison’s office described as “a purported drug stash house,” and saw Diaz Fernandes on the entry floor. A rifle was under his body. Emergency medical responders declared him dead at the scene.

One person in the residence said he had moved from California two months earlier to care for Diaz Fernandes’ horses. He said he was awakened between 5 and 5:30 a.m. to the sound of the front door being kicked in. He saw a man dressed as a police officer enter his bedroom.

While the intruder, later identified as Mateo Rodrigues, was trying to tie up the man at gunpoint, a shot rang out from upstairs. Mateo Rodrigues fled the bedroom.

Law enforcement investigators found Downs’ cellphone, $55,700 in cash and “other items indicative of drug distribution” at the residence, one of the complaints read.

After his arrest, Downs told investigators the plan was to “fake rob” the stash house, where there was supposed to be a large amount of methamphetamine and $1 million in cash. Downs said Diaz Fernandes was supposed to leave the back door and the barn unlocked but also kick in the front door to make it look like a robbery.

After the door was kicked in, Diaz Fernandes came out from an upstairs bedroom shooting, and someone described in the complaints only as “the other guy” went downstairs. Houle was shot as he and Downs fled. Downs said it was “the other guy” who shot Diaz Fernandes and then fled out a downstairs window.

Saavedra Olivar, Houle and Mateo Rodrigues all denied upon their arrests to participating in the crime.