Jury trial set for May 27th for Renville murder suspect

A jury trial date has been set for a Renville man accused of shooting another Renville man to death this summer. Julian Valdez, age 26, is charged with 2 counts of 2nd Degree Murder for the August 5th shooting death of 31-year-old Pablo Gutierrez.

Valdez told police he and a friend were playing pool in his garage that night when they were accosted by Gutierrez. Valdez says he shot Gutierrez when Gutierrez became aggressive and tried to attack his friend.

Valdez appeared in Renville County District Court yesterday and Judge Laurence Stratton set the jury trial date for May 27th, with a motions hearing slated for April 13th. Valdez remains in the county jail on $500,000 unconditional bail.

(JP Cola, KWLM)