A 20-year-old Austin man has admitted to a felony gun charge tied to a February 2025 shooting that left a 27-year-old man dead, closing one chapter in a case that has revolved around cellphone video and teen suspects. On Monday, Gavyn Skattebo pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm despite a prior juvenile adjudication for a violent offense. Sentencing is scheduled for September 2026.
Skattebo entered the plea in Mower County Court to a felony count of possessing a firearm while having been convicted or adjudicated delinquent for a crime of violence, according to KTTC. The outlet reports that his juvenile record includes an adjudication for terroristic threats, and court filings list his sentencing date in September.
Shooting That Sparked The Probe
The gun case grew out of a Feb. 15, 2025, shooting in Austin that killed 27-year-old Opoka James Bot Lob Nathanael and wounded another man, as reported by the Star Tribune. Authorities arrested a 16-year-old in connection with the killing, and the Mower County attorney has sought to prosecute that juvenile as an adult. According to the Star Tribune, an autopsy found multiple gunshot wounds to Nathanael’s back.
Video Evidence And Related Arrests
Investigators with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension dug into cellphone data while working the homicide and uncovered a video dated around the time of the shooting that shows Skattebo holding a Glock 9x19 with an extended magazine, the Post Bulletin reported. That same probe led to the arrests of two other teens. One of them, Owyn Enrique Raul Bellikka, later pleaded guilty to a related weapons charge and in May 2025 was sentenced to five years in Mower County.
Skattebo was arrested in March 2025 and released on bail while the broader homicide investigation continued, according to the Post Bulletin’s reporting. The gun case proceeded on its own track as investigators and prosecutors sorted out who might face which charges in the killing.
What The Charge Carries
Under Minnesota law, anyone who has been convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a “crime of violence” is barred from possessing firearms. Violating that prohibition is a felony under Minn. Stat. §624.713. The statute lets prosecutors file weapons-possession counts separately from homicide charges and exposes defendants to felony-level sentencing if they are convicted.
Local court complaints show that prosecutors across the state have used that provision in similar cases, effectively treating illegal gun possession as its own serious crime even when it is wrapped up in larger violent incidents.
Court Calendar And Next Steps
Skattebo is scheduled to return to Mower County Court for sentencing in September, and pre-sentencing reports and legal filings are expected in the meantime. The wider homicide case, including whether the 16-year-old suspect will ultimately be tried as an adult, remains active, according to reporting by the Post Bulletin. Court records and future hearings will determine whether any additional charges or penalties emerge.
For now, the September sentencing stands as the next major milestone in a case that has turned on digital evidence and raised hard questions about juvenile involvement in violent crime. Upcoming Mower County filings will provide the next clear public look at how the court ultimately handles Skattebo’s weapons conviction.
