Duluth man gets nine years in prison after robbery tied to homicide

A nine-year prison term has closed one branch of the Central Hillside case that began with a robbery and ended with the killing of Cody Thomas Telega. The sentence was handed down in a case that Duluth police said was tied directly to the fatal shooting, which left neighbors in one of the city’s most closely watched areas with a lingering sense of unfinished business.

Police said Telega, 37, a Duluth resident, was first linked to the case when officers responded late Saturday, June 14, 2025, to a home invasion and robbery at his apartment in the 100 block of East Third Street. Telega was shot about three hours later, just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday, June 15, and died of his injuries at the hospital.

Court documents summarized in the case say a witness saw the shooter approach the apartment building carrying a weapon and wearing gloves. That witness heard four gunshots. Another witness said the shooter fired at him as well. Police later used surveillance video, including footage of a getaway van, to identify and track suspects.

Duluth police arrested Lance Houle, 37, and Steve Sholtey, 37, on June 20, 2025, in connection with the robbery. Both were lodged in the St. Louis County Jail on pending aggravated robbery charges. Police said that robbery was connected to the homicide, turning what began as a break-in into a wider criminal case that spread across multiple charges and defendants.

Separate homicide charges named Antonio Duryea Hendon, 35, and Amber Michele Rose Walker, 41, both of Minneapolis. Hendon was charged with second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Walker was charged with aiding an offender to avoid arrest. Police also said the people involved knew each other and that investigators were examining a prior incident that may have helped set off the shooting.

The nine-year sentence reflects the robbery side of the case, not a murder conviction. That leaves the homicide prosecution, and the question of who was responsible for the fatal shots, still central for Telega’s family and for a neighborhood that saw a robbery turn deadly within hours.