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Trial moved to May in Superior killing

The trial date has been moved from December to May in the case of the shooting death of Terence Rodney Luukkonen of Duluth. Juan Leonardo Padilla, 42, of Fort Mohave, Ariz., faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge in Douglas County Circu...

The trial date has been moved from December to May in the case of the shooting death of Terence Rodney Luukkonen of Duluth.

Juan Leonardo Padilla, 42, of Fort Mohave, Ariz., faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge in Douglas County Circuit Court.

Padilla's trial had been set for Dec. 10 but was taken off the calendar last week after District Attorney Dan Blank and Chief Public Defender J. Patrick O'Neill indicated the case was not ready for a jury trial.

Padilla is accused of shooting Luukkonen as he sat in his vehicle in the parking lot of Genesis Attachments on Connors Point in Superior. Luukkonen worked as a purchasing director at Genesis.

Luukkonen was found in his vehicle May 23, bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound on the left side of his head. He was transported to a Duluth hospital, where he died of his injuries.

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A vehicle owned by Padilla was seen casing the parking lot of the Superior business where Luukkonen worked two days before the shooting. Police learned from Luukkonen's fiancée, Christin Weir, that Padilla, with whom she'd had a relationship that ended, had threatened to kill Luukkonen.

On Monday, Judge George Glonek scheduled the trial for May, with jury selection on May 5 and opening statements beginning May 6. The trial is expected to take a week. A pretrial conference will take place April 28.

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