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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Brooklyn Center Teen Charged With Murder After Landscaping Business Owner Found Shot in Shakopee Park
Prosecutors allege that cellphone records, surveillance footage and evidence recovered during a police search link an 18-year-old employee to the fatal shooting of a 53-year-old landscaping business owner. The accused is scheduled to return to court October 16.
SHAKOPEE, MN (October 14, 2026). An 18-year-old Brooklyn Center man faces a second-degree intentional murder charge in Scott County after investigators connected him to the death of a 53-year-old landscaping business owner whose body was discovered off a walking trail in Shakopee's Wilkie Park.
Emilio Vallejo Ortiz was arrested October 6 following an investigation into the death, which authorities believe occurred the evening of October 3, one day before the victim's body was discovered.
According to the criminal complaint described in multiple Minnesota news reports, investigators used surveillance footage from a Burnsville home improvement store, cellphone location records, text messages and evidence recovered from the defendant's residence to reconstruct the movements of the two men before and after the suspected shooting.
Vallejo Ortiz is accused of intentionally causing the victim's death without premeditation. The charge carries a maximum statutory sentence of 40 years in prison if he is convicted.
The allegation remains unproven, and Vallejo Ortiz is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Walkers Discover Body Near Park Trail
The investigation began Sunday, October 4, when three people walking through Wilkie Park discovered a man lying in vegetation approximately 30 feet from the eastern trail.
Shakopee police were dispatched shortly after 7 p.m. on a report of an unresponsive person.
Officers found the man deceased, with blood visible around his face. Investigators subsequently discovered a larger concentration of blood on the trail, apparent drag marks and spent ammunition casings.
The evidence led investigators to believe the man had been shot near the trail before his body was moved into the surrounding vegetation.
According to the complaint, investigators recovered four spent 9 mm cartridge casings and a live round.
An autopsy determined that the victim had suffered four gunshot wounds and ruled the death a homicide.
The victim, described in court documents as a 53-year-old Shakopee resident who owned a landscaping business, had not been publicly identified in the reports reviewed for this article.
Employment Relationship Becomes Part of Investigation
After identifying the victim, detectives visited his apartment and learned that he operated a landscaping business.
Investigators also learned that Vallejo Ortiz worked for him and frequently visited the residence.
The victim's sister reportedly told detectives she suspected Vallejo Ortiz might have been involved in her brother's death. She also expressed a belief that the two men may have had a romantic relationship.
That information was presented as a witness's statement in the criminal complaint. It has not been established as fact, and prosecutors have not publicly identified a confirmed motive for the killing.
According to published accounts of the complaint, Vallejo Ortiz denied having a romantic relationship with the victim when questioned by investigators.
The existence of an employment relationship is supported by the investigative account, but the circumstances surrounding the death remain subject to the criminal proceedings.
Menards Surveillance Footage Helps Reconstruct Timeline
One of the most significant pieces of evidence described in the complaint came from surveillance cameras at a Menards store in Burnsville.
Investigators say video recorded October 3 showed Vallejo Ortiz driving the victim's Ford Raptor pickup truck into the store parking lot at approximately 5:15 p.m.
The victim was reportedly seated in the passenger seat.
The two men left the parking lot around 5:32 p.m., with Vallejo Ortiz again appearing to drive the vehicle.
Investigators compared those images with cellphone location data associated with both men.
According to the complaint, the victim's phone reached an area near Wilkie Park at approximately 5:37 p.m. and did not subsequently move away from that location.
Location information associated with Vallejo Ortiz's phone placed it near the area between approximately 5:52 and 6:01 p.m.
The phone records do not independently establish who fired the fatal shots. Prosecutors, however, cite the timing and proximity as evidence supporting their allegation.
Investigators Report Inconsistencies in Defendant's Account
Detectives interviewed Vallejo Ortiz on October 5.
According to the criminal complaint, he acknowledged spending time with the victim the previous day and visiting Menards, but gave an account of the timing that investigators considered inconsistent with surveillance footage and cellphone records.
He also reportedly denied driving the victim's Ford Raptor that weekend.
Investigators say the store surveillance video appeared to contradict that statement.
The victim's pickup truck was later located unoccupied approximately 1.1 miles from Vallejo Ortiz's Brooklyn Center address.
Police subsequently recovered a key associated with the truck from a desk containing the defendant's personal documents, according to the complaint.
Investigators also reported that the footwear Vallejo Ortiz was wearing when arrested resembled the flip-flops visible in the Menards surveillance recording.
Each of those details forms part of the prosecution's account of the investigation. Their evidentiary significance will be determined through the court process.
Firearm Searches and Messages Examined
Investigators also reviewed information from Vallejo Ortiz's cellphone.
According to the complaint, searches for Glock firearms appeared on the device on several dates preceding the discovery of the body, including September 28, September 30, October 3 and October 4.
A September 28 message was interpreted by an investigative assistant using Google Translate as a request for someone to obtain a Glock handgun.
The use of automated translation is relevant because the precise wording and interpretation of messages may be examined during criminal proceedings.
Investigators say the defendant denied owning a firearm.
Despite searches of the park area, authorities had not recovered a suspected murder weapon as of the investigative account reported October 9.
No eyewitness to the shooting was identified in the reports reviewed.
Court Sets Multimillion-Dollar Bail
Vallejo Ortiz was arrested October 6 and subsequently charged in Scott County District Court.
A release order filed October 9 set bail at $2 million with conditions or $2.5 million without conditions, according to reporting based on the court record.
Conditions of release include restrictions on firearms, contact with the victim's family and travel outside Minnesota without court permission.
The existence of a release order does not mean the defendant has posted bail or been released.
His next scheduled court appearance is Friday, October 16, at 8:30 a.m.
The charge is second-degree intentional murder without premeditation under Minnesota Statutes section 609.19, subdivision 1(1).
Under that provision, the state alleges an intentional killing but does not allege the premeditation required for first-degree premeditated murder.
The prosecution must prove the elements of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a conviction.
Questions Remain About Motive and the Fatal Encounter
Although the criminal complaint describes a detailed sequence of movements and investigative findings, several important questions remain unanswered.
Authorities have not publicly established a motive for the shooting, identified a recovered murder weapon or described an eyewitness who observed the killing.
The exact time of the fatal gunfire has also not been established in the public accounts reviewed.
The victim's identity had not been released in those reports, and the criminal case remains pending.
For now, prosecutors are relying on the combination of location information, surveillance video, statements made during the investigation and evidence recovered afterward.
Vallejo Ortiz will have the opportunity to challenge the allegations and evidence through the criminal justice process.
Following the Court Proceedings
The case is being handled in Scott County District Court.
Members of the public can search for available court filings and scheduled hearings through Minnesota Court Records Online.
Minnesota Court Records Online: https://publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us/
Scott County District Court:
Scott County Justice Center
200 Fourth Avenue West
Shakopee, MN 55379
The next reported hearing is scheduled for October 16, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Court calendars and hearing arrangements may change.
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