Brainerd man found murdered near Mora

Law enforcement officials are investigating the murder of a 35-year-old Brainerd man, whose body was found near Mora but whose murder is believed to have happened east of Brainerd.

The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Department reported today two male suspects, ages 33 and 37, were arrested Sunday on murder and accessory to murder charges, and are being held in Crow Wing County Jail. Formal charges are expected today or Tuesday.

The victim, Billie Joe Moon, was found in a ditch Thursday outside of Mora with a gunshot wound to the head, Crow Wing County Sheriff Dick Ross said today. The Kanabec County Sheriff's Department and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension traced Moon back to Brainerd, where he had been listed as a missing person, Ross said. The Brainerd Police Department is assisting in the investigation.

One of the suspects is Moon's brother.

Moon had been missing since Feb. 16, when his mother, who lives in Owatonna, reported his disappearance to the Owatonna Police Department, Brainerd Police Chief John Bolduc said. Moon was last seen in downtown Brainerd near the Blue Ox, Ross said, and he was last seen with his brother.

The murder is believed to have happened in a rural area off of Highway 18, just east of Brainerd, Ross said.

Moon's body was spotted by a passing motorist on Mahogany Road, about 12 miles north of Mora just off Highway 65, Kanabec County Sheriff Ernie Blaisdell said. Moon was wearing a T-shirt, pants and a light jacket.

Blaisdell said the body was identified as Moon's on Friday, and his department and the BCA tracked Moon as a missing person from Brainerd.

What led up to the shooting was unknown, Ross said. The suspect told Ross he and his brother, "just ... weren't getting along for quite some time."