Minneapolis man sentenced to life in prison for Inver Grove Heights murder

Krystal Frasier KSTP

Gabriel Alfonso Sanchez Cruz (Dakota County Jail)

A Minneapolis man who was convicted of murder by a jury earlier this summer of murder in connection to a 2021 shooting in Inver Grove Heights has learned his fate.

Gabriel Alfonso Sanchez Cruz, 44, was found guilty of first-degree murder while committing aggravated robbery and second-degree intentional murder in the death of Bryant Jon Lutgens, 38, of Burnsville on June 29.

Tuesday, a judge sentenced Cruz to life in prison, as well as restitution.

Inver Grove Heights police found Lutgens dead in a snowbank on the morning of Feb. 1, 2021.

Officers determined he’d been with a friend in Bloomington the night before but, after leaving to get money, never came back and wasn’t responding.

The rental Jeep Lutgens had been driving was stopped on Feb. 3 after a pursuit and Cruz, the driver, was arrested.

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 that he’d shot Lutgens during an attempted robbery.

Attorneys say two of his co-defendants – Jason Beck and Kyle Reagan – are scheduled to be sentenced on July 20, while a third co-defendant, Ryan Whitman, will be sentenced on Aug. 3.

According to court records, Reagan pleaded guilty to one count of Aiding an Offender (Accomplice After the Fact).

Beck was initially charged with Aiding and Abetting Murder in the 2nd Degree Without Intent While Committing a Felony and Aiding and Abetting First Degree Aggravated Robbery. He pleaded guilty to the aggravated robbery charge in June of last year, court documents show.

Meanwhile, documents state Ryan Whitman was charged with Aiding and Offender – Accomplice and Accessory After the Fact, and entered a guilty plea to the charge in April of 2021. A settlement is pending, according to documents.