The MN Supreme Court orders a new trial in the deadly Eagan hotel shooting

A man convicted of fatally shooting a robber during a drug deal outside an Eagan hotel four years ago will get another chance to prove his actions were in self-defense.

In an opinion filed Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals and remanded the case against Robert Lee Baker III to Dakota County District Court, concluding that jurors should have heard instructions on self-defense and the defense from others.

A Dakota County jury found Baker, then 30 of Eagan, in April 2022 guilty of murder in the second degree in the killing of Maurice Antonio Anderson, 29, of Minneapolis at the Sonesta Suites hotel on November 9, 2020. Baker fired 16 shots, 11 of which struck Anderson.

Judge Michael Mayer was sentenced to 36.5 years in prison in June 2022.

Baker did not testify at his trial, so the judges considered testimony based on three statements he made to police after his arrest, according to Wednesday’s opinion.

Baker said two men with guns got into his girlfriend’s car — he was in the passenger seat — and had her driven to the hotel. Once parked, the men robbed them of cash, his wallet and his girlfriend’s purse. The men got out and ran away.

Baker said he jumped out of the car with his gun, chased the men and demanded they give back what they had stolen. He said he started shooting after the men pointed their guns at him, and stopped shooting when one fell to the ground.

During the trial, before closing arguments, Baker’s attorney requested a jury instruction on self-defense and the defense of others, which the prosecutor opposed. Although Judge Mayer had allowed the defense to raise these defenses during opening arguments, he ruled at the end of the evidence that he would not instruct the jury on self-defense and the defense of others.

Robbery ‘in progress’?

Mayer discovered that the robbery was over and that Baker had “re-engaged” by getting out of the car with a gun. Mayer said the defense failed to establish that Baker was not the initial aggressor because he had renewed contact with the victim. The defense also failed to establish that Baker did not have reasonable means to withdraw, according to Mayer.

The appeals court affirmed this, but found that the elements of self-defense relied on by the district court – aggression and withdrawal – were “complex and somewhat muddled given the facts of this case.” Ultimately, the appeals court did not decide the issues of aggression or withdrawal, but instead affirmed because it concluded that Baker did not legally use a reasonable amount of force.

The Supreme Court ruled that, viewed in the light most favorable to Baker, it is “reasonable to conclude that the robbery was in progress” when Baker got out of the car and demanded his belongings back.

“Based on the specific evidence presented in this case, we conclude that Baker met his burden by presenting sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that he was not the initial aggressor,” Chief Justice Natalie Hudson wrote in the advice.

The judges also concluded that Baker presented sufficient evidence from which a jury could reasonably conclude that, with the weapons pointed at him, Baker had no reasonable opportunity to retreat.

It was “a close call” whether Baker used a reasonable degree of force, Hudson wrote. She noted that evidence was presented at trial that the shots fired could have occurred within about five seconds, and also that Baker said he stopped shooting as soon as Anderson fell to the ground.

“We recognize that a reasonable jury could conclude that the level of force was not reasonable,” Hudson wrote. “But we cannot go so far as to say that ‘no reasonable juror could conclude that his use of force to defend himself was reasonable.’ … The reasonableness of the level of force used in a given situation is an essential question for a jury.”

Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena said in an emailed statement Wednesday that she was aware of the Supreme Court’s decision, adding: “Unless the matter is resolved, it is my intention to relitigate the case to try.”

State’s Attorney Steven Russett, who represented Baker in the appeal, did not return a message Wednesday seeking comment on the decision.

Second robber charged in 2022

The second attacker was later identified as Jwan Orlando Johnson, Anderson’s 45-year-old uncle.