Nicholas Van Pelt, a 41-year-old White/Caucasian male, was a man dedicated to service. A Master Sergeant with the North Dakota Air National Guard's 219th Security Forces Squadron, he had enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2001 and served overseas in Korea, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates. He also served his local community as a Ward County Sheriff's deputy from 2018 until May 2023, when he transitioned to full-time duty with the Air National Guard.
A native of Ringgold, Georgia, he was a father of three, remembered by friends and colleagues as a mentor and a dedicated family man.
On the evening of Christmas Eve, 2023, Van Pelt was in his Minot, North Dakota, apartment with his girlfriend, Jenni Babcock, and a friend, Daniel Breijo. A neighbor called police around 8:42 p.m. to report hearing six gunshots, followed by two more during the call. When Minot police officers arrived, they heard a woman screaming for help and forced their way into the apartment. They found Van Pelt deceased in the hallway from multiple gunshot wounds. Babcock, then 40, was discovered in the laundry room with life-threatening gunshot wounds to her back and forearm. She was rushed to a local hospital for treatment.
Police located Daniel Breijo, then 39, in a bathroom on his knees with a black handgun on the floor beside him. Breijo, a resident of Surrey, North Dakota, was an officer with the Department of Homeland Security and a Tech Sergeant in the Air Force Reserve. He was taken into custody without incident and subsequently charged with murder and attempted murder.
The case presented immediate challenges for the local justice system. Because Van Pelt, Babcock, and Breijo were all connected to the local and federal law enforcement communities, all North-Central District Court judges recused themselves to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. A special prosecutor and an outside judge, Daniel El-Dweek, were appointed to preside over the case. Breijo pleaded not guilty to all charges in October 2024.
In the months that followed, the legal proceedings were marked by numerous delays and complex motions. A proposed plea agreement that would have reduced the murder charge against Breijo to manslaughter was brought before the court. However, in September 2025, the district court judge rejected the deal. The case continued to be postponed due to disputes over evidence, including whether investigators violated Breijo's rights during the search of the apartment, and a prolonged legal battle over a media outlet's unaired interview footage with the surviving victim.
After several previously scheduled trial dates were vacated, the criminal case against Daniel Breijo remains active. As of an October 2026 court hearing, a jury trial was scheduled to begin on April 12, 2027.
