Duluth woman sentenced to 10 years in Rice Lake man s overdose death
Joanne Smith had three prior drug convictions in Minnesota and later admitted to selling heroin while on pretrial release following her arrest for the death of Samuel O Leary. 5:51 pm, Apr. 12, 2021 ×
Joanne Rose Smith
A Duluth woman was sentenced Monday to more than 10 years in prison for her role in providing a fatal dose of fentanyl to a Rice Lake man in 2017.
Joanne Rose Smith, 47, pleaded guilty in State District Court in February to a third-degree murder charge in the death of 33-year-old Samuel James O Leary.
Under the terms of a plea agreement with the St. Louis County Attorney s Office, Smith was sentenced to a guideline term of 125 months in prison. Judge David Johnson also imposed a concurrent term of 95 months for a second case, in which Smith admitted to selling heroin while the murder charge was pending.
Duluth East High School lockdown lifted; 17-year-old student in custody duluthnewstribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from duluthnewstribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A Native American woman accused a police officer of harassing her and pulling her over without cause while she drove in town. A Black man claimed multiple violent run-ins with the police. A second Black man originally from Chicago accused law enforcement of singling him out while he was fishing next to several white people on a lake.
âThatâs a classic case of profiling,â said the third man identified as Jay. âBeing up here I want to be part of the change. I donât want to be part of the problem. But how can I be part of the change when Iâm already deemed a criminal?â
Law enforcement say there wasnât an active shooter threat in or near the Eveleth-Gilbert Junior High School on Monday, despite social media posts and rumors to the contrary.
Parents and guardians took to Facebook that afternoon and shared the following automated text messages received from Rock Ridge Public Schools: âThe Gilbert Campus was in lock down briefly this afternoon. At no time were our students and staff in danger. The Gilbert Police were contacted and are investigating the situation. There is no danger to any students or staff. The situation has been resolved peacefully.â They described being surprised, especially some of whom received texts from their students saying a teenager had brought a gun onto campus.
Two Harbors man reinstates guilty pleas in Midway Road crash that injured 5
The 36-year-old still won t face a prison sentence, but a new agreement could keep felony convictions on his record. 6:02 pm, Mar. 15, 2021 ×
A Two Harbors man pleaded guilty Monday for the second time in a hit-and-run crash that injured five people in Midway Township last summer.
Rodney Drake Scandin Jr., 36, agreed to reinstate his guilty pleas on five felony counts of criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm after the June 27 collision at Midway and Stark roads.
The renewed pleas, entered at a virtual hearing of State District Court in Duluth, came six weeks after a prosecutor backed out of a plea agreement that was criticized by the victims as being too lenient in light of the severe injuries they suffered.