Deaths, Murder, Small Law Firms

Law Clerk Mistaken For Attorney, Murdered By Angry Client

He’d worked for the firm for just under one year’s time, and was considering applying to law school in the future.

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police crime tapeToday, we have tragic news out of the Midwest. Last week, in a case of what seems to be mistaken identity, an aspiring lawyer was shot to death while at work. He was the only person in the office at the time, and considering the incredibly brutal nature of the shooting, the death toll may have been even higher had the attorneys he worked for not been at court during the commission of the crime.

Chase Passauer, 23, was a law clerk at North Star Criminal Defense, a small firm located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Passauer was shot and killed at his desk on Thursday afternoon by Ryan D. Petersen, a disgruntled client of the firm. Passauer was shot six times in the stomach. He’d worked for the firm for just under one year’s time, and noted in his LinkedIn profile that he was considering applying to law school in the future.

The Star Tribune has some additional details on Passauer’s untimely death:

According to the criminal complaint, Petersen had hired attorney Dan Adkins from the law firm but was “displeased with the way his case was being handled.” He expressed his concerns to Adkins via phone calls and text messages before and on Thursday.

“On the afternoon of April 7, Petersen fired [Adkins] by text message and demanded his money back,” the complaint said. “Petersen expressed a belief that [Adkins] was ignoring his messages.”

Adkins was in court at the time and couldn’t respond to Petersen, according to the complaint.

When Petersen arrived at the law firm, located above St. Paul’s historic W.A. Frost & Company restaurant in the 300 block of Selby Avenue, he apparently found only Passauer. Adkins and colleague James Gempeler arrived at the firm just after the shooting and found Passauer fatally wounded, sitting in his desk chair. He was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m.

Peterson hired Adkins in late March, and it is unclear if Adkins and Peterson ever met in person. That being the case, police believe that Peterson may have mistaken Passauer for Adkins. Peterson has been charged with one count of second-degree murder.

After fleeing the scene, Peterson, a violent career criminal with a lengthy rap sheet — including convictions for drive-by shooting, second-degree assault, fleeing police in a motor vehicle, drunken driving, and disorderly conduct — allegedly texted the following message to a friend who’d asked him to meet at a bar: “No, I just shot my lawyer.”

Adkins and Gempeler of North Star Criminal Defense released the following statement following Passauer’s death:

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Chase Passauer

Chase Passauer

It is impossible to fathom or understand what happened yesterday at our office. We are working through this difficult time as best as we can. But we are grieving the loss of an incredible young man with such a bright and promising future.

He wasn’t just our employee. He was our friend. Our brother. He will be missed, but never forgotten.

Calling Passauer’s killing a “senseless and horrific act,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said his office would “do everything in its power to seek justice in this case.” Choi also commented on the proliferation of gun violence in the area, stating, “I am calling on all of us, as a community, to get serious about preventing tragedies like this by asking how this convicted felon was able to obtain the gun used in this murder.”

We here at Above the Law would like to extend our condolences and sympathies to Chase Passauer’s family, friends, and colleagues. We sincerely hope that this young man’s alleged killer is brought swiftly to justice.

UPDATE (3:45 p.m.): A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Chase Passauer’s family pay for his funeral expenses. Many people in the legal community have already donated to this worthy cause. If you’d like to help the Passauer family during this incredibly difficult time, please click here to make a donation.

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Charges: Law clerk shot, killed in St. Paul after suspect couldn’t reach lawyer [Star Tribune]
Criminal complaint against Ryan D. Petersen of St. Paul [Star Tribune]

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