The Minnesota Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction of cop killer Brian Fitch, who filed an appeal on grounds that he should have had two trials rather than one.
In its decision published Wednesday, the high court said Fitch did not have a right to be tried by a Ramsey County jury on the Ramsey County charges because he could not have had a fair trial there.
Additionally, Fitch was not prejudiced by the district court’s refusal to sever the first-degree murder charge from the other charges, the Supreme Court said.
Fitch, 41, was found guilty last year of shooting Mendota Heights officer Scott Patrick during a routine traffic stop in West St. Paul on July 30, 2014, and then trying to kill cops who cornered him in St. Paul in a firefight the same night. He is serving life in prison with no chance of release.