A Minnesota man and a woman have learned their future after being convicted of second-degree murder for killing a man in his Inver Grove Heights home, according to court records.
25-year-old Logan David Slack and 25-year-old Fotini Anest West were each sentenced to 367 months in the St. Cloud Correctional Facility, with credit for 221 days already served during their sentencing hearings on Tuesday morning.
A criminal complaint shows Slack and West were originally convicted of two counts each of second-degree murder for the death of 43-year-old Michael Chang-Beom Lee in September.
In separate plea deals, Slack and West both agreed to plead guilty to one count of second-degree murder in exchange for a suggested sentence of 367 months and the dismissal of the second murder charge, according to court records.
The criminal complaint said on Sept. 24, 2022, the Inver Grove Heights Police Department was called to a home near the 2100 block of 78th Court East for a caller who reported someone was trying to get into his house. The caller shouted “help me,” but eventually went silent, according to court records.
When officers got into the house, they reported seeing shattered glass and bloody footprints. Downstairs, they found Lee dead in the basement bathroom from a single gunshot wound.
According to law enforcement, a witness at the scene reported seeing an older, dark, mid-sized SUV parked in front of Lee’s home, which drove off seconds before law enforcement arrived.
Later, a different officer stopped an SUV driven by Slack at the intersection of 80th Street and Barbara Avenue in Inver Grove Heights, said court records. The officer noticed a woman whose hands, arms, and chest were covered in blood, later identified as West, in the passenger seat.
The complaint notes the officer initially believed West had been assaulted when West said an Asian man had attacked her and Slack brought her to safety. However, while investigating, the officers at Lee’s home aired that Lee was found dead and asked the officer that stopped Slack and West to check their shoe soles to see if they matched the bloody prints found at the home.
Slack and West were then taken to the police department, where Slack said he had dropped West off at Lee’s home for an erotic massage, the complaint states. However, West came outside a short time later and said Lee assaulted her and wouldn’t pay for the services.
That’s when Slack grabbed a gun from the SUV, forced their way into the home and ran after Lee, who hid in a bathroom. The complaint states that Slack then fired his gun and shot Lee in the back, saying Lee had tried to grab West through a hole in the bathroom door. They then grabbed Lee’s phone to stop him from calling 911 and make sure they got paid, then fled.
Police found the gun and Lee’s cellphone in the SUV, the complaint adds.
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