A Minneapolis man has been charged for the death of a man in March 2021, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Friday.
Ivan Contreras-Sanchez, 40, was charged with intentional second-degree murder for taking part in the savage beating that killed a male victim on March 29, and transporting the body to Dakota County where his remains were discovered in a farming culvert.
Contreras-Sanchez’s first appearance is scheduled for Nov. 8 at 1:30 p.m.
According to the criminal complaint, family members of the victim reported him missing on April 4 to the Minneapolis Police Department Fifth Precinct. Family told police they had last seen him on March 27. The family also stated that people at a homeless camp told them the victim was in a fight with another man, hit over the head with a shovel, and died.
Nearly three weeks later, on April 26, the male victim’s body was found in a farming culvert in Dakota County.
Police obtained a geo-fence (or a virtual boundary of a specific geographic location that is defined by GPS or RFID) search warrant for the area, and discovered a device was located near the body on March 29 at 8:28 p.m. The device was connected to an email address belonging to Contreras-Sanchez, the complaint states. Additional geo-fencing results showed that the device was at a Speedway gas station in Inver Grove Heights around 7:36 p.m.
The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office received digital evidence from the gas station, showing two vehicles arrive together: a black Chevrolet Malibu Maxx and a light-colored SUV. Two Hispanic men are seen going into the store, and purchasing a bottle of Lipton Brisk fruit punch. Upon locating the victim’s body, an unopened bottle of Lipton Brisk fruit punch was found, the complaint continues.
Court records reviewed by investigators found that Contreras-Sanchez had a traffic citation for driving without a license in a dark colored Chevrolet Malibu Maxx.
Location history from Contreras-Sanchez’s email account revealed that he was geo-located at 3214 Irving Ave. N. in Minneapolis multiple times. On June 19, a Sergeant with the Minneapolis Police Department went to that address and noted a black Chevrolet Malibu Maxx in the back of the house. There he saw Contreras-Sanchez working on his car, and noted the interior had been gutted, the complaint states.
The Sergeant had the vehicle towed to a forensic lot for examination.
A confidential informant provided a statement during the investigation, and told them that a woman confessed to helping move the victim’s body. In addition, the woman was said to have told the informant that the victim was killed at 36t h Avenue North and 4th Street in Minneapolis on March 29, and one of men involved went by Chilango, with the real name being Evan or Ivan, the complaint states.
Combined with the informant’s statement and investigatory work, investigators believed that the victim was killed at 425 36th Ave. N. The owner of the house authorized police to search the premise, where they found what looked like blood on a water heater in the basement, the complaint says. Samples were collected and sent to the BCA which found there to be the presence of human blood, but there was insufficient genetic material to determine the DNA source.
A woman renting the residence at the time of the murder told police that she was staying with her mother at the time, but had heard that the victim was killed there. And, that the victim was beaten up by Chilango and Old Man Victor, the complaint continues. She was also able to identify Contreras-Sanchez when shown his photo.
On Nov. 2, Contreras-Sanchez was coming out of his garage at 3214 Irving Ave. N., when officers asked him to confirm his email. Upon doing so, he was then taken into custody.
During a taped statement, he initially denied any involvement in the murder, however, eventually admitted to driving the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx used to move the victim’s body, the complaint furthers. He also stated that people do refer to him as Chilango.
As the taped statement continued, Contreras-Sanchez informed investigators that he saw people beating the victim up at 425 36th Ave. N., and that two men brought a “bundle” downstairs which he thought they placed in his car. Following that, he drove to a remote area in Dakota County where the body was eventually found.
As the interview neared conclusion with investigators, Contreras-Sanchez showed videos on his phone with the victim severely injured. In one video, Contreras-Sanchez is seen having a conversation with the injured victim about why he was being assaulted.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner performed an autopsy which found that the victim died from blunt force trauma and determined his death was a homicide.
