Trials
A Grand Forks jury found Vincent Villarreal guilty of murder in the 2020 shooting death of his father.
The Grand Forks Herald reported that on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, after more than seven hours of deliberation, a jury convicted Vincent Chase Villarreal, 34, of Class AA felony murder with extreme indifference in the Dec. 4, 2020, shooting death of Jeffrey Allen Shulzitski, 55, at a Grand Forks hotel. Sentencing is set for Jan. 25, 2027. He is held without bond.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
A guilty verdict closes the guilt phase. It does not set the sentence. North Dakota Class AA murder with extreme indifference carries a maximum of life. The jury sat through a seven-day trial on a case charged in 2021 and delayed for years while Villarreal finished unrelated Minnesota custody. Thursday's finding is that the State proved murder beyond a reasonable doubt. The Jan. 25 hearing is when the court decides how long he serves.
A Grand Forks County jury found Vincent Chase Villarreal, 34, guilty of Class AA felony murder with extreme indifference on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in the Dec. 4, 2020, shooting death of his father, Jeffrey Allen Shulzitski, 55, the Grand Forks Herald reported. Jurors deliberated more than seven hours across Wednesday evening and Thursday before returning the verdict around 2 p.m. Judge Ted Sandberg set sentencing for 10:30 a.m. Jan. 25, 2027. Villarreal will be held without bond at the Grand Forks County Correctional Facility until then.
According to the charging affidavit summarized in earlier Herald reporting, Grand Forks officers responded to an unattended death Dec. 5, 2020, at a local hotel. Shulzitski's death was ruled a homicide by gunshot. Witness statements and surveillance put Villarreal at the Budget Inn Express visiting his father on Dec. 4; a witness alleged he was the shooter, and he left the room afterward. Villarreal was arrested Dec. 30, 2020, in Crookston, Minnesota, on unrelated matters, served time there, and was transferred to Grand Forks County custody on Feb. 13, 2025, so the murder case could proceed. Those are the process facts that brought the case to a 2026 trial. The jury's verdict is the finding on the murder count.
The trial opened Oct. 6 and ran seven days. The Herald reported the defense requested an acquittal after the State rested and that the judge denied it. Once the verdict was announced Thursday, the courtroom filled with law enforcement, law students, and people connected to the case, including Villarreal's mother. A maximum life sentence remains available on the Class AA count. No sentence has been imposed.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Villarreal was presumed innocent through trial; Thursday's verdict is the jury's finding that the State proved Class AA murder with extreme indifference beyond a reasonable doubt. He can challenge the conviction after sentencing.
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