Bail for the suspect in a cross-state crime spree that led to the death of a New London man has been set at 3.5 million dollars. 25-year-old Ameer Musa Matariyeh of Minneapolis is charged with 2nd Degree Murder, Attempted 2nd Degree Murder, 1st Degree Assault and Fleeing Police in a Motor Vehicle. In Kandiyohi County District Court Thursday morning Judge Jennifer Fischer granted him a public defender, and his next court appearance was set for November 25th.
Matariyeh is accused of fleeing police Tuesday after a shooting incident in south Minneapolis, shooting 25-year-old Peter Mayerchak of Lake Lillian, and then shooting 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London in the head on the south side of Willmar while trying to take his pickup. Skluzacek died at the scene. Mayerchak, is a McLeod County corrections officer, was shot in the shoulder and is expected to survive.
The criminal complaint says Matariyeh shot Mayerchak in the yard of his home after arguing with him, then continued to flee westbound on Highway 7. At Prinsburg, he went northbound on County Road 7 and headed to Raymond at estimated speeds of 135 miles an hour, then headed east to Willmar. He was in a stolen Chevy Malibu he had reportedly taken from a Hutchinson woman in Carver County, and Kandiyohi County Deputies were able to have the vehicle’s OnStar system disable the car while on the Highway 23 bypass by Willmar.
It was at that time Matariyeh rear-ended Skluzacek’s pickup and tried to car-jack him, then shot him. He then fled on foot into the median where the complaint says he discarded the gun, then surrendered without incident. Matariyeh was reportedly on the phone with Minneapolis Police negotiators the whole time. After his arrest, Matariyeh reportedly said he wanted to die, and had thrown his life away because his girlfriend had cheated on him. {from KWLM}
