Hill City man charged with 2nd Degree Murder
Press Release from Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office
A Hill City man has been charged with second degree murder for the October 2021 shooting death of his brother. Investigators arrested James Robert Hess, 48, Tuesday morning at his home. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Aitkin County Jail.
The victim, identified by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office as William Harold Hess Jr., 52, of Hill City, was found deceased from a gunshot wound on May 12, 2022, inside of a homemade camper just west of 380th Avenue in Hill Lake Township in Aitkin County.
The homicide investigation was conducted by the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension with significant assistance from the Aitkin, Itasca, and Mille Lacs Violent Crime Enforcement Team (AIM VCET).
James Robert Hess appeared in Aitkin County District Court on May 25 before the Honorable Judge David Hermerding. His release conditions have been set at $1,000,000 bail or bond with no conditions, or $500,000 non-cash bond with conditions, or $500,000 cash bail with conditions.
Hess remains in the Aitkin County Jail with additional charges pending.