Richfield man receives probation sentence for role in murder of Burnsville man

Krystal Frasier KSTP

Mugshot of Ryan Whitman. Credit: Dakota County Jail

The fourth and final person who was convicted of having a role in the death of a Burnsville man has been sentenced.

Wednesday, a judge sentenced 39-year-old Ryan Whitman of Richfield to 57 months in the St. Cloud prison, but that was stayed. Whitman also received credit for the 83 days he served in the Dakota County Jail, and has been ordered to now serve five years of supervised probation with Dakota County Community Corrections.

Whitman was convicted of aiding an offender by being an accomplice after the fact in April of 2021, court records show.

As previously reported, police found the body of 38-year-old Bryant Jon Lutgens in a snowbank on the morning of Feb. 1, 2021.

Officers determined he had been with a friend in Bloomington the night before, but, after leaving to get money, never came back.

The rental Jeep Lutgens had been driving was stopped on Feb. 3 after a pursuit and the driver, identified as Gabriel Alfonso Sanchez Cruz, was arrested. Cruz was sentenced to life in prison last month.

A criminal complaint states that officers also recovered a gun that had been thrown from the Jeep and determined it was the same caliber as the one used to kill Lutgens.

A witness later told police Cruz told her he’d shot Lutgens during an attempted robbery.

Meanwhile, two other co-defendants – Kyle Reagan of Edina and Jason Beck of Eden Prairie – were sentenced to probation for their connection to the murder.

Reagan was charged with aiding an offender- accomplice after the fact. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison, but a judge stayed the sentence for five years. He received credit for 69 days served in the Dakota County Jail. Instead, he will serve five years of supervised probation in Dakota County.

Beck was also sentenced to 57 months in prison for his charge of first-degree aggravated robbery, but had that sentence stayed by a judge. He received credit for 129 days served in the Dakota County Jail, and will now serve five years of supervised probation.

Beck was initially charged with aiding and abetting murder in the second degree without intent while committing a felony, in addition to aggravated robbery. Court documents show he pleaded guilty to the aggravated robbery charge in June 2021.