Warrant issued for Coon Rapids man fleeing murder charge in Nevada

A warrant has been issued to apprehend a man charged for second-degree intentional murder in the death of his nearby neighbor in Coon Rapids. 

According to the criminal complaint, at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 23, both the Coon Rapids Police Department and Anoka County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a suspicious death that had occurred at 10150 Wintergreen Street NW in Coon Rapids.

After not being able to see David Nelson for a considerable amount of time, family members told police that immediately upon entering his residence they found him lying on the floor. He appeared to be deceased, with a significant amount of blood around his body. 

At the scene officers noted that Nelson had "significant head trauma, a number of lacerations on his body, and his throat had been deeply slashed." Officers also noted a significant amount of blood spatter in numerous areas of the home, and located a bloody hammer in the area near his body.

Police recovered two cell phones near his body, and it was determined that one of the phones was registered to John Joseph Hare, 42, also of Coon Rapids.

After investigation, policer noted the presence of several strange texts on Hare’s phone that appeared to reference Nelson’s death.

A search warrant was executed at Hare’s home – which is only a few houses down on the same street – where Crime Scene Unit detectives recovered wet, freshly washed clothes that smelled strongly of bleach and located drops of blood in the snow leading to the exterior door of the house.

Officers obtained another search warrant to locate a separate phone owned by Hare, and the phone was determined to be active in the area of Nye County, Nevada, where his brother was known to live. 

A warrant has been requested for his return after his arrest in Nevada to appear in Anoka County District Court.