Arrest made in suspected drug overdose death in Willmar, Minnesota

Jan. 30—WILLMAR

— A suspect is in custody after police began an investigation into a possible overdose death Friday in Willmar.

Dispatch received a 911 call around 12:54 p.m. Friday indicating a 26-year-old male was found not breathing at a residence in the 3100 block of Seventh Avenue Northwest in Willmar, according to a news release from

Willmar Police

Chief Jim Felt.

Resuscitation efforts by first responders were ultimately unsuccessful, and the male was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not named in the news release.

According to Felt, an investigation into the death showed evidence consistent with a drug overdose. Investigators were able to determine a suspect for a possible sale of a controlled substance to the deceased male shortly before the reported medical emergency.

Willmar police, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office, and agents with the CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force executed a search warrant around 11:44 a.m. Tuesday on a Willmar residence and the suspect in the alleged drug sale.

The suspect — a 19-year-old from Willmar who was not named in the release — was ultimately taken into custody along with related evidence at the scene. He is being held in the Kandiyohi County Jail on pending charges of third-degree murder and third-degree controlled substance crime, according to the news release.

Felt said the case remains under investigation.