Inset: Emilio Ortiz (Scott County Jail). Background: The trailhead for the Wilkie Unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Shakopee, Minn. (Google Maps).
A Minnesota teenager is now behind bars after shooting and killing a man who was both his co‑worker and, at times, his boss, according to law enforcement in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Emilio Vallejo Ortiz, 18, faces a second‑degree murder charge for the death of a 53‑year‑old landscaping business owner who worked alongside him.
The case opened on Oct. 4 when several passersby discovered the victim lying in a ditch off a hiking trail in Wilkie Park, Shakopee,a midsize city about 25 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
Officers arriving at the park found the man, whose name remains withheld, about 30 feet from the trail, tangled in weeds with dried blood on his face, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Minneapolis‑based Fox affiliate KMSP and local ABC affiliate KSTP. Police noted that the body appeared to have been dragged.
Near the corpse, investigators saw a sizable blood pool, three spent 9 mm casings, one live 9 mm round and drag marks along the trail. An autopsy later confirmed the victim died after being shot four times.
A fourth bullet casing turned up roughly 150 feet from the scene. Hikers later told police they had picked up the casing and tossed it off the trail.
After identifying the victim, police searched his apartment and found signs of damage. They also learned the man had reported a break‑in the day before his body was discovered.
Neighbors told investigators the victim owned a landscaping business that employed Ortiz. The teenager reportedly had access to the victim’s vehicles and occasionally stayed at his apartment.
The victim’s sister suggested the two might have been romantically involved. Ortiz denied that claim in the charging document.
When asked where he was that day, Ortiz said the man dropped him off at a shopping center in the afternoon. He also denied driving the victim’s 2023 Ford Raptor.
Surveillance footage, however, captured Ortiz behind the wheel of the Raptor with the victim in the passenger seat. The video shows them stopping at a home‑improvement store, purchasing a door lock, and then getting back into the truck. Ortiz is seen driving again shortly afterward.
About five minutes later, the victim’s phone pinged near the location where his body would later be found. The phone never moved again until police recovered it off the park trail the next day.
Police also placed Ortiz’s own phone in the park for roughly 20 minutes, starting around the time the victim’s phone sent its final ping.
Confronted with the conflicting surveillance and cellphone data, Ortiz told officers he “did not remember that day.” He was then taken into custody.
In an interview, Ortiz denied the rumored relationship, said he worked with the victim during weekdays and for the landscaping business on weekends, and claimed he did not own a gun.
Later, officers located the Raptor parked about a mile from Ortiz’s residence. A key to the truck was found inside the teenager’s home.
A search of Ortiz’s cellphone uncovered a translated message that read: “Get me a Glock, buddy.”
Ortiz remains detained at the Scott County Jail on $2 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
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