WILLMAR, Minn. 鈥� A 19-year-old woman is charged with murder and manslaughter in a Willmar man's overdose death last year.
Mercedes Leigh Carpenter, of Maynard, made her first appearance Tuesday in Kandiyohi County District Court on three felony counts: third-degree murder 鈥� distribution of a controlled substance, second-degree manslaughter 鈥� culpable negligence, and third-degree sale of a narcotic.
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She was arrested on a warrant Monday afternoon in Redwood Falls. Carpenter is alleged to have helped the Willmar man contact another male party in order to purchase drugs.
Early the next morning, the Willmar man was found collapsed in his residence and declared deceased. He was identified as John Jesse Olvera in the criminal complaint. It did not list his age.
The Kandiyohi County Attorney's Office also filed the same three felony charges against a 26-year-old male from Benson. There is an active nationwide warrant for him. As of Wednesday afternoon, court records showed the warrant was still active.
Judge Jennifer Fischer on Tuesday ordered Carpenter held on $500,000 unconditional bail or $50,000 bail with conditions that include no contact with the victim's family and no use of alcohol or mood-altering drugs. Carpenter remained in the Kandiyohi County Jail as of Wednesday afternoon. Her next court appearance will be a remote hearing scheduled for Aug. 29.
Criminal complaints filed in District Court said data extracted from Olvera's phone showed he had exchanged messages with Carpenter and the Benson man in order to purchase Percocet pills. Percocet is an opioid pain medication that combines acetaminophen and oxycodone.
According to court documents, Willmar police received a call around 5:12 a.m. Sept. 26, 2022, about a man passed out in a shower.
The collapsed male, later identified as Olvera, was pronounced dead at the scene around 5:23 a.m. The Midwest Medical Examiner鈥檚 final autopsy summary indicated the cause of death was fentanyl toxicity.
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