A man convicted of fatally shooting a robber during a drug deal outside an Eagan hotel four years ago will get a new chance to prove his actions were in self-defense.

In an opinion filed Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed the Minnesota Court of Appeals’ decision and sent the case against Robert Lee Baker III back to Dakota County District Court, concluding that jurors should have heard instructions regarding self-defense and defense of others.

In April 2022, a Dakota County jury found Baker, then 30-year-old Eagan. guilty of second degree murder In the murder of Maurice Antonio Anderson, 29, of Minneapolis, on November 9, 2020, at the Sonesta Suites hotel. Baker fired 16 shots, 11 of which were at Anderson.

Judge Michael Mayer Sentenced to 36.5 years in prison In June 2022.

Baker did not testify at his trial, so in Wednesday’s opinion the justices considered testimony from three statements he gave to police after his arrest.

Baker said two armed men got into his girlfriend’s car, who was in the front passenger seat, and drove her to the hotel. After parking, the men stole cash, his wallet and his girlfriend’s purse. The men went out and started running.

Baker said he jumped out of the car with his gun, chased after the men, and demanded they give back what he had stolen. He said he started shooting after the men pointed their guns at him, and stopped firing when one of them fell to the ground.

At trial, before closing arguments, Baker’s attorney requested jury instructions on self-defense and defense of others, which the prosecution opposed. Judge Mayer ruled that he would not instruct the jury on self-defense and defense of others at the conclusion of the evidence, although he allowed the defense to present these defenses during opening statements.

Is the robbery ‘in progress’?

Mayer realized the robbery was over and Baker “re-entered the scene” by exiting the car with a gun. Mayer said the defense could not establish that Baker was not the initial attacker because Baker reconnected with the victim. The defense also failed to establish that Baker had no reasonable means to retreat, according to Mayer.

The appellate court affirmed that decision, but held that the elements of self-defense (attack and retreat) relied upon by the district court were “complex and somewhat muddled under the facts of this case.” Ultimately, the appeals court did not decide the issue of assault or retreat, but instead affirmed the verdict, finding that Baker did not use a legally reasonable amount of force.

The Supreme Court ruled in Baker’s favor that when Baker got out of the car and asked for his belongings back, “it was reasonable to infer that the robbery was in progress.”

“Based on the specific evidence presented in this case, we conclude that Baker met his responsibility by presenting sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that he was not the initial aggressor,” Chief Judge Natalie Hudson wrote in the opinion.

The justices also concluded that Baker presented enough evidence that the jury could reasonably conclude that Baker, who had a gun pointed at him, did not have a reasonable opportunity to retreat.

It was a “close call” as to whether Baker used reasonable force, Hudson wrote. He noted that evidence was presented at trial that the shots may have occurred within about five seconds, and also that Baker said he stopped firing as soon as Anderson hit the ground.

“We recognize that a reasonable jury could conclude that the degree of force used was not reasonable,” Hudson wrote. “But we cannot go so far as to say that ‘no reasonable juror could conclude that it was reasonable for him to use force to defend himself.’ … Whether the degree of force used in a particular situation was reasonable is the most important question for the jury.”

Dakota County District Attorney Kathy Keena said in an emailed statement Wednesday that she was aware of the Supreme Court’s decision, adding: “As long as the case remains unresolved, I intend to try the case again.”

Steven Russett, the state public defender who represented Baker on appeal, did not return a message Wednesday to comment on the decision.

Second robber charged in 2022

The second attacker was later identified as Anderson’s uncle, 45-year-old Jwan Orlando Johnson.