Minneapolis man enters Norgaard plea in deadly crime spree

preCharge News MINNESOTA — A Minneapolis man accused of killing one person and injuring another while leading police on a high-speed chase following a domestic violence-related standoff has entered a Norgaard plea.

Ameer Matariyeh, 26, entered the plea on Friday, according to Kandiyohi County court records. The Norgaard plea means Matariyeh admits to the crime and acknowledges he is not innocent, but does not remember the incident.

Matariyeh was charged in Kandiyohi with one count each of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle for the multi-county crime spree.

In Hennepin County, Matariyeh is facing three counts of felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of misdemeanor domestic assault. That case is still active.

Matariyeh’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 24, 2025.

Crime spree details

Minneapolis police were first called to the Lime apartment building off Lyndale Avenue South and West 29th Street at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 22, 2024, on a report of domestic violence. As officers arrived, Matariyeh open fire from his apartment balcony at his ex-girlfriend — the mother of his child — and her current boyfriend. Neither were hurt.

When police eventually made their way into Matariyeh’s apartment, no one was inside. Crisis negotiators then made contact with him via phone and learned he was driving west of the Twin Cities.

Around 1:53 p.m., Kandiyohi County deputies learned of a stolen Chevy Malibu traveling west on Highway 7. A short time later, deputies were updated that the Chevy was at a home along the highway in the Lake Lillian area and the suspect — identified as Matariyeh — was out on the front lawn of the property.

At 2:02 p.m., deputies received a 911 call from the residence saying a man had been shot in the chest. His wife, who was at home with him during the shooting, told police that her husband had been outside and she heard a pop. Charges say the husband then came back inside and told her to get his gun, as he had been shot.

Matariyeh then allegedly got back into the stolen vehicle and continued to drive west on Highway 7, reaching speeds up to 130 mph.

As deputies pursued Matariyeh, they were informed negotiators with the Minneapolis Police Department were on the phone with him and that Matariyeh said he was going to “attempt suicide by cop,” charges say.

Deputies contacted OnStar to remotely disable the vehicle around 2:25 p.m. Matariyeh then got out of the car and approached a small green pickup truck that was driving on the road. He then shot and killed the driver, 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London, Minnesota.

Charging documents say Matariyeh then ran across the highway into the median, came back towards the road and raised his hands over his head.

He was speaking to Minneapolis negotiators on his cell phone, documents say, and he threw his gun into the ditch. Deputies gave him loud, verbal commands not to move, and he was taken into custody.

While in the back of the squad car, Matariyeh told officers that he was throwing his life away because he had been cheated on, documents say.