WILLMAR, Minn. - State Rep. Dave Baker of Willmar applauded the work of local law enforcement in bringing charges against a suspect in the Nov. 4 overdose death of John Schlegel, 24, of Blomkest.
Richard Michael Carl Houske, 29, was arraigned Thursday, March 15, on third-degree murder charges for allegedly selling the fentanyl that led to Schlegel's death.
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"The family is grateful to start putting closure to this horrible tragedy in their lives,'' said Baker, speaking on behalf of the surviving family of John Schlegel, as well as others who have lost loved ones to opioid overdoses.
"Their son was given very bad drugs, enough to kill him, and he had never intended for that to happen. It is just a very, very sad chapter in their lives,'' said Baker when reached by phone Thursday on the floor of the House of Representatives in St. Paul. Baker has been an advocate for measures to address opioid addiction after his son died of an opioid overdose.
Baker said the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office and CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force members worked hard to bring justice in the case once they learned what caused the death of Schlegel.
"It's important to our law enforcement that they catch these people, that they take these kinds of people out of our society and put them away where they are not going to hurt other people,'' Baker said. He also urged everyone to report to law enforcement any drug activity.
"We're very happy with the outcome of the charges that were brought forward and now we'll let the justice system play its role,'' Baker said.
Kandiyohi County Sheriff Dan Hartog issued a news release Thursday announcing the charge against Houske, and the sheriff cited the drug challenges society faces. Drug overdoses in 2016 killed nearly 64,000 people in the U.S., with fentanyl and heroin being the leading causes, he stated.
Last year, the CEE-VI Drug Task Force arrested 387 individuals for sale or possession of controlled substances in the counties of Kandiyohi, Chippewa, Meeker, Swift, and Yellow Medicine.
