Minnesota

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

Published

1 year ago

October 28, 2024

Press Room

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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Minnesota

Jean Sumner

Published

11 hours ago

October 28, 2025

Press Room

Jean Marie (Bee) Sumner died Friday, October 24, 2025 at her home in Rockport, Texas. After facing chronic lymphocytic leukemia for many years, her body is finally at peace.

Jean was born December 21, 1952 in Plum City, Wisconsin to Kenny and Pat Bee. She grew up in Embarrass, Minnesota and graduated from Virginia High School in 1971.

She married Steve Sumner on February 14, 1987 in Duluth. Jean received her B.Acc. from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1981 and worked at Wells Fargo until her retirement in 2006 when she moved to The Villages, FL.

Jean and Steve loved to travel and spent many weeks in Mexico and the Caribbean. Most recently she spent her winters in Yuma, AZ and last winter bought a home in Rockport, TX. In the summer, she would return to Embarrass.

She is survived by her daughters Leslie (Brad) Brunfelt, Duluth, MN; Kristen (John) Peek, Orlando, FL; Amy (Dennis) Christopherson, Arkansaw, WI; stepson Jason Sumner; bonus daughter Julie Sumner. Grandchildren Emily and Sydney Hanna, Ben and Aaron Fulford, Tabitha (Cody) Strzyzykowski, Matthew Sumner, Miranda, Robert, and Alice Christopherson. Great Grandchildren, Elizabeth and Mackenzie Strzyzykowski. Siblings Linda (Duane) Henry, Lacey, WA; Ann Lamppa, Virginia, MN; Jodi (Perry) Kronenbush, Rochester, MN; Chuck (Patty) Bee, Tower, MN. Many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends who loved her dearly. Partner, Bob Schroeder and dog, Sassy.

She is preceded in death by her parents and parents in-law, her husband of 34 years, Steve Sumner; son Travis Nevala, and brother-in-law, Lon Lamppa.

A celebration of life will be held at Timber Hall in Embarrass, MN on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. Please share online condolences and photos at charliemarshallfuneralhomes.com.

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Minnesota

Minnesota Capitol security enhancements underway

Published

1 day ago

October 27, 2025

Press Room

Minnesota Capitol security enhancements underway

Security changes at the Minnesota State Capitol are underway, but it will still be a couple of months before an advisory committee’s comprehensive recommendations are forwarded to the legislature.

The most notable change in the short term will be more uniform security personnel on the job, following the recent hiring of 20 new security officers.

RELATED: State Capitol security changes now in effect with more to come

“Mid to late November is when they will start their training and then be put into their own classification and be out there in the field, so to speak, and functioning as Capitol security officers and our eyes and ears that are out there,” says Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol.

Geiger says more state troopers will also be assigned to the Capitol complex, along with a new captain to help oversee security, as well as an existing captain.

RELATED: State Patrol finalizing third-party Capitol security review after ‘naked man’ incident

Additionally, a trooper will be assigned to work with the BCA investigating threats involving the Capitol complex. There have been 50 threats investigated so far in 2025 — compared to 19 in all of 2024. 13 cases this year have been referred for prosecution.

The Advisory Committee on Capitol Security also learned more about the consulting firm hired to study Capitol complex security and to make recommendations for improvements. The Axtell Group is headed by former St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell. He addressed the committee to outline the work that will be done, but says it’s too soon to report any findings.

One lawmaker was concerned that the contract with the consulting firm only calls for studying four of 14 buildings that make up the Capitol complex, including the Capitol itself, the Senate Office Building, the Centennial Office Building (where House members are temporarily officing) and the Judicial Building.

“There are other buildings on the campus that obviously the public interacts with,” said Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia. “People who actually perhaps serve in these buildings will walk over to for a number of different reasons, and I’m wondering why have those buildings been excluded from the comprehensive, I believe it was called a comprehensive security assessment, because without those buildings in my estimation it is not comprehensive.”

Axtell said his firm’s contract only calls for a review of those four buildings, and Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson explained why. He says they are the most heavily visited buildings, and all that could be budgeted for at this point.

“This assessment, once it’s completed, does not preclude us from coming back to the legislature and asking for more funds to complete the rest of the Capitol area completely,” he said. “I think that actually would be a wise idea.”

The committee, chaired by DFL Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, includes House and Senate members, law enforcement, and sergeant-at-arms staff from the House and Senate. They will continue meeting until they come up with recommendations for the legislature when it reconvenes in February.

RELATED: State committee discusses Capitol security in wake of attack on lawmakers

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Minnesota

Pacers vs Timberwolves Game Loses Minnesota All-Star with Concerning Injury

Published

2 days ago

October 26, 2025

Press Room

Pacers vs Timberwolves Game Loses Minnesota All-Star with Concerning Injury

The Indiana Pacers, who are missing a whopping seven guards in their ongoing Sunday tilt against the Minnesota Timberwolves, got a bit of injury luck when Minnesota’s best player was ruled out for good in the first quarter of the action.

More news: Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Provides New Injury Update on Himself

Per Chris Haynes of Amazon Prime and NBA TV, All-Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards has been ruled out for the rest of the contest with right hamstring tightness.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is out for remainder of the game against Indiana Pacers due to right hamstring tightness.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 26, 2025
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