Isanti County man sentenced to over 30 years for home invasion turned homicide

(ABC 6 News) – Fredy Saaverda Olivar was sentenced on Wednesday for the December 2023 murder of Jose De Jesus Diaz Fernandes, according to Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office.

An Isanti County court sentenced Olivar to 25-and-a-half years in prison, along with a consecutive 5-year sentence for the home invasion turned homicide. It comes after he was found guilty of 2nd degree murder and 1st degree burglary.

On December 12th, Olivar hired three men to dress as police officers and burglarize a purported drug stash house on a Spencer Brook Township ranch. He provided them with a gun, drugs, the house’s address, and coordinated with them over the phone moments before the crime.

Fernandes was shot and killed with four other individuals, including a toddler, present at the time. Three remaining defendants are still pending trial.

The case was prosecuted by Ellison’s office as the request of Isanti County Attorney Jeff Edblad.