State high court denies petition for review from Willmar, Minn., man sentenced for firing shots at officer

WILLMAR — The state Supreme Court has denied a petition for further review from Leroy Diaz Evans, the 28-year-old Willmar man sentenced to prison for more than 25 years on multiple charges for his role in a September 2010 incident that included two home invasions and shots fired at Willmar police officers.
The denial was issued on the court’s website last week. In September, the state Court of Appeals affirmed Diaz Evans’ conviction and sentencing in May 2011 to 308 months in prison.
According to the Department of Corrections website, Diaz Evans is currently housed in the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Rush City and his expected release date from prison is October 2027.
Diaz Evans’ sentence included consecutive sentences of 98 months on a first-degree burglary charge for a home invasion incident, 90 months on another first-degree burglary charge for a second home invasion and 120 months on the charge of use of deadly force against a peace officer.
Diaz Evans was the third and final defendant sentenced for the Sept. 15, 2010, incident at a home near the Subway restaurant parking lot along Second Street Southeast in Willmar. Jesus Trevino, 35, was sentenced to 58 months on a first-degree burglary charge. Arcadio Salinas, 25, was sentenced to 34 months for aiding and abetting first-degree attempted robbery.
According to the Department of Corrections website, Salinas is now on intensive supervised release after being released from prison in August. Trevino is in the custody of the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Lino Lakes. His expected release date from prison is Dec. 9, 2013.
A jury found Diaz Evans guilty in March 2011 of eight of the nine felony charges against him. He was acquitted of the most serious charge, first-degree attempted murder of a peace officer, but was found guilty of use of deadly force against a peace officer and guilty of seven first-degree burglary and aggravated robbery charges. The jury also determined that Diaz Evans is a danger to public safety, an aggravated factor in his sentencing.