Fairbanks gets life for Minn. deputy’s murder
Published 7:07 pm Saturday, September 10, 2011
MAHNOMEN — A judge has sentenced Thomas Fairbanks to life in prison without parole for the shooting death of Mahnomen County sheriff’s Deputy Chris Dewey.
A jury in Crookston convicted Fairbanks last week of first-degree murder. The conviction carries a mandatory life-without-parole sentence.
Jurors also found Fairbanks guilty of nine other charges, while acquitting him of two charges of first-degree assault on peace officers.
Judge Jeff Remick sentenced Fairbanks on each of the other nine charges — effectively adding 20 years to his life sentence.
Dewey was shot in the head and abdomen Feb. 18, 2009, while investigating a report of a drunken driver in Mahnomen. The deputy died last year of his injuries.