News Bulletin: Judge denies change of venue in Flores case

The trial in the case of a former Minnesota State Trooper will be held in Olmsted County, after a judge ruled against a change of venue.

Shane Roper, 34, was charged after a fatal car crash on May 18, 2024, that killed an Owatonna High School senior three weeks before graduation.

Olivia Flores, 18, was a backseat passenger in a car that was struck broadside by a patrol vehicle Roper was driving. She died the next day from her injuries; five other people sustained injuries, including a “ride-along” passenger in the patrol car.

Roper and his attorney argued that pre-trial publicity was enough to force the trial out of Rochester, where the crash occurred. If a change of venue was not granted, the defense suggested an alternative option of a change of venire.

In other words, while the trial itself would be held in Olmsted County, the jury pool would be brought in from another county.

Judge Lisa Hayne denied the motion in full.

Roper said that in addition to “traditional” media coverage, social media coverage was also extensive and “sensationalized.”

Hayne found that any particularly emotional social media posts “have been generated by or associated with a ‘Justice for Olivia Flores’ Facebook group, which appears to be managed by Ms. Flores’ family and friends.”

Because Flores was a resident of Owatonna, in Steele County, Hayne said the social media is not “local” to Olmsted County.

Additionally, the judge wrote, “If Olmsted County jury pool members have seen such media, it indicates to this Court that the news has ‘escaped’ its local parameters to circulate more widely around the state of Minnesota. Changing venue for trial would not, therefore, solve the matter of prejudicial pretrial publicity.”

Time, too, will take its toll, Hayne wrote.

The jury demographics can change significantly in a span of two or more years. Some who were originally exposed to media coverage die, move away, or become otherwise ineligible to serve.

Newcomers who were not exposed to the extensive news coverage from 2024 join the community.