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One convicted of aiding murder in Morton, Minnesota, woman's overdose death

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One convicted of aiding murder in Morton, Minnesota, woman's overdose death


OLIVIA

— One of the three men criminally charged in connection to the overdose death of a

Morton,

Minnesota, woman last fall has pleaded guilty and will serve prison time.

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Daniel Ortiz, 31, of

St. Paul,

pleaded guilty in June to aiding and abetting murder in the third degree. According to the plea petition filed in Renville County District Court, Ortiz agreed to provide truthful testimony in the trials of co-defendants Joshua Lee Hill, of Shakopee, and Eugene Damario Tate, of Minneapolis.

In exchange for his plea, attorneys agreed Ortiz would be sentenced to a downward durational departure of 36 months in prison. According to the departure report filed by the judge, the crime was less onerous than usual — Ortiz did not actually sell the drugs to the woman — and the prosecutor and family of the woman were in agreement with the lesser sentence.

Lead prosecutor Kelsie Kingstrom noted for the record that the Renville County Attorney’s Office had numerous conversations with the woman’s family and that they had no objection to the recommendation, according to a court transcript.

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Judge Thomas Van Hon sentenced Ortiz on Sept. 11 to 36 months of prison with credit for 133 days served. Ortiz is currently incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, he is expected to be released on May 4, 2026.

Daniel Ortiz

Contributed / Minnesota Department of Corrections

According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement responded Oct. 25, 2023, to a residence in Morton on the report of an unresponsive female. A sheriff’s deputy arrived but determined the female to be deceased. A piece of tinfoil with black residue, a metal pipe and lighter were also located nearby.

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A family member of the woman spoke with law enforcement later the same day. According to the complaint, the family member reported they had found additional drug paraphernalia, including a folded piece of paper that contained a white substance, which later field tested presumptive positive for fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug approved for prescription use as a pain reliever and anesthetic. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, it is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as a pain relieve.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman had a history of drug use and had recently relapsed. Another witness told police that she and a second witness had recently driven the woman to the Minneapolis area to pick up drugs days before she was found unresponsive.

At the plea hearing on June 24, 2024, Ortiz admitted to helping facilitate a drug sale between the woman and Tate, who allegedly sold the fentanyl found in the woman’s residence.

According to the court transcript, the woman had contacted Ortiz stating she wanted to buy fentanyl. Ortiz then contacted Tate, whom he knew by another name, and acted as the main line of communication between the woman and Tate to arrange a drug purchase.

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The complaint states that the woman had initially reached out to Hill to arrange a drug purchase. Hill then contacted Ortiz once she said she was seeking to purchase two grams of fentanyl.

Ortiz also stated that he was present when the drug purchase in Minneapolis occurred. Ortiz said he was going to be the person to give the fentanyl to the woman, but Tate had changed his mind. Ortiz said Tate decided to do the sale himself after the woman had texted Ortiz that she had arrived at the agreed upon location.

An autopsy report from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office determined the woman’s death was caused by toxic effects of fentanyl. Drug toxicology results from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension found the substance located in the woman’s room was confirmed to be fentanyl, weighing about 1.24 grams.

Criminal proceedings are continuing against the other two suspects.

Hill is also charged with aiding and abetting third-degree murder. He was booked into the Renville County Jail on March 17, 2024, and has remained in custody since his arrest. Bail was set at $500,000 without conditions or $250,000 with conditions that include GPS monitoring.

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Court records show his next pretrial date has been set for April 10, 2025.

Tate is charged with third-degree murder via selling/distributing controlled substances. He posted a $100,000 bond in March and was released with conditions, including that he participate in a pretrial supervision program.

Through his attorney, Tate filed a motion Sept. 30 to suppress evidence. He argues that warrants used to obtain his Facebook/Meta data did not meet the standard to sufficiently link him as the owner of the accounts or that he was the one using the accounts during referenced time frames in the criminal complaints.

The court took the matter under advisement, and no additional hearings in the case have yet been scheduled, according to online court records.





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Vikings Have a Dubious Connection to the Dexter Lawrence Trade

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Vikings Have a Dubious Connection to the Dexter Lawrence Trade


Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.

Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.

Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.

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Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.

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Sept 11, 2006; Landover, MD, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver (82) Troy Williamson is unable to make the catch against the Washington Redskins in the first quarter at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images Copyright © James Lang | James Lang-Imagn Images

Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.

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Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.

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The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.

By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.

James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.

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Boldy, Eriksson Ek help Wild cruise past Stars in Game 1 of Western 1st Round | NHL.com

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Boldy, Eriksson Ek help Wild cruise past Stars in Game 1 of Western 1st Round | NHL.com


Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Wallstedt made 27 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, and Zuccarello had three assists.

“I was definitely nervous,” said Wallstedt, a rookie. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good. 

“I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”

Jason Robertson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central.

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“We didn’t deserve to win,” Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen said. “I think two power-play goals for them, two a little-bit bounces for them where we had guys in the right spot. Just even keel. Playoffs are like this. Sometimes you lose a game, you can feel like you’re done. But that’s the mentality you need to have, you’ve got to reset and learn from mistakes. 

“First 30 minutes, we didn’t win enough battles. They were just that little bit stronger in the battles and that’s why they were able to make us defend more than we want to. Just got to be stronger.”

Game 2 is here on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).

“We prepped for a couple days coming into this one. Now, we will gather information from this game and continue to move forward,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “For me, it’s game to game and day to day. We want to continue to get better. We won and they [Dallas] lost. It’s not so much being satisfied where you’re at or that’s what it is. We need to continue to find ways to get better.”

Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period on the power play. He scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks to finish a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zuccarello and Boldy, who found an open Eriksson Ek with a pass from the goal line.

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“I think every team in the playoffs talks about not getting too high or too low. Just enjoy every day and each game and then we will go from there,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think we played pretty good today. The next game is a new game, so we just have to do it over and over every game. We know they are probably not the happiest with that game, so I am sure it’s going to be hard next game.”



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ICE agent assault charge marks a ‘milestone’ for Minnesota prosecutors

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ICE agent assault charge marks a ‘milestone’ for Minnesota prosecutors



Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault accusing him of involvement in a February road-rage incident.

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Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault, saying the agent was involved in a February road-rage incident during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to April 16 Hennepin County court records. He has a nationwide warrant for his arrest.

On Feb. 5, prosecutors said Morgan allegedly drove illegally on the shoulder of a congested Minnesota highway in an unmarked SUV and pointed his weapon at two people in another car.

Morgan is the first agent charged in Operation Metro Surge, the controversial Minneapolis-area federal immigration operation that resulted in two American citizens fatally shot by federal officials, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

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The charges “reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on our community during Operation Metro Surge,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in an April 16 video statement.

Second-degree assault with a gun has a presumptive sentence of 36 months in prison if convicted, she said.

“Mr. Morgan’s conduct was extremely dangerous,” she said, adding his actions could have led to “another disastrous incident” in the community.

Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to email requests for comment. A cell phone listed for Morgan, identified as a Maryland resident, didn’t immediately respond to a call or text message.

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The incident came less than two weeks after two Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, during a protest in Minneapolis. Pretti would be the second American killed during Metro Surge after an ICE agent in early January fatally shot Renee Good, 37, while she drove her SUV in Minneapolis near an immigration operation.

Later in February, the Trump administration drew down Metro Surge, which officials called the largest immigration operation in modern American history.

Investigators said they interviewed Morgan, who identified himself as the driver. Morgan told investigators he and the other ICE employee were returning from a surveillance shift. Morgan said he feared for his life and others’ safety, so he pulled up alongside the vehicle and drew his Glock 19 firearm. He said he identified himself as police. 

State investigators said neither Morgan nor the other ICE agent reported the incident to an ICE supervisor.

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The April 16 warrant, signed by District Court Judge Paul Scoggin, said there was a “substantial likelihood” Morgan would fail to respond to a summons, and officials couldn’t locate him.

On April 18, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the county attorney’s office, said there is no knowledge of Morgan being arrested yet.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.



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