Man charged in shooting of Waseca police officer pleads guilty

The man charged in connection to the shooting and injuring of a Waseca police officer pleaded guilty Thursday.

According to court records, Tyler Janovsky pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree attempted murder of a peace officer.

Authorities say, Officer Arik Matson, 32, was shot in the head by Janovsky after responding to a report of a suspicious person on Jan. 6.

A criminal complaint states Janovsky has multiple previous crimes of violence, including accessory to murder in the second degree, making terroristic threats, burglary in the first degree, and attempted manufacturing of methamphetamine and other controlled substance crimes.

Injured Waseca officer marks 6 months since shooting, continues long recovery

Last week, Matson’s family said the officer has "slowly but surely struggled and put up a fight to regain his daily capabilities back that we all take for granted." His family said he is able to walk short distances on his own, but is often in need of an assistant’s help.

The family added, "Arik’s memory is all there. His appetite is back. He is able to write letters back and forth with his daughters weekly."

Waseca Police Chief Penny Vought issued the following statement on the guilty plea to KSTP:

"I believe there is a sense of relief in our department that a resolution could be reached in this case so that Arik, his family and other members of our department did not have to go through a trial. We continue to support Arik in his recovery and can’t wait for him to come back to us and the Waseca community. We also know there are thousands of people throughout Minnesota and other states who support him and his family too. We will be forever grateful for the love, kindness and support that has been shown to Arik, his family, his friends, and us."