Willmar, Minnesota, man charged with murder in suspected overdose death

Dale Morin And Susan Lunneborg, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·3 min read

Feb. 2—WILLMAR

— The 19-year-old arrested in relation to a possible drug overdose death last week in Willmar is now charged with murder.

Xavier Rene Soto, of Willmar, is being held on $500,000 bail after making his first appearance Thursday in

Kandiyohi County District Court

.

Soto is charged with third-degree murder for the alleged sale of a controlled substance, fentanyl, that caused the death of a 26-year-old male who was found unconscious at a Willmar residence on Jan. 26. The man who died has not been named by police or in court documents.

Soto is also charged with second-degree drug sale within a park zone and fifth-degree drug possession.

According to court records, District Court Judge Dwayne Knutsen on Thursday set unconditional bail at $500,000 or $200,000 with conditions that include Soto surrender his passport, not leave Minnesota without court approval, and have no contact with any family member of the man who died.

The online roster of the Kandiyohi County Jail showed Soto in custody as of Friday morning. His next scheduled appearance will be April 2.

According to the criminal complaint against Soto, Willmar police were dispatched just before 1 p.m. Jan. 26 to a residence in the 3100 block of Seventh Avenue Northwest on a report of a man not breathing. First responders arrived to find someone performing CPR and took over resuscitation efforts, but they were ultimately unsuccessful.

Willmar Police Chief Jim Felt, in a Jan. 30 news release, said the 26-year-old was declared dead at the scene.

Felt said at that time that the investigation "showed evidence consistent with a drug overdose," but cause of death is not specified in the criminal complaint filed Thursday.

A man who lived with the deceased said that the two had planned to go to St. Cloud together around 1 p.m. Jan. 26. The man said he did not get a reply when he yelled that it was time to leave, and he then found the 26-year-old unresponsive in his bedroom, according to the complaint.

Agents with the CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force were called to assist in the investigation and a search warrant was obtained.

At the scene, agents recovered a blue pill, which field-tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, multiple pieces of tinfoil with burnt residue and multiple straws, according to the complaint.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video footage from the home showing the man who died coming and going that morning, and a few days later officers also reviewed footage from a business the man visited while he was out.

According to the description in the complaint, video shows both him and Soto at the business, and Soto is seen handling something very small before making a hand-to-hand exchange with the man and leaving the store.

The complaint further describes video showing the man briefly in the bathroom area of the business and then waiting in line at the register where he appears to be nodding off.

The complaint states the man appears to nod off again, before being awakened by an employee, and even loses his balance, falling in front of the register. The man is then helped up by an employee, makes a purchase and exits the store around 9:22 a.m. Jan. 26, shortly before he arrived home.

Through investigation, agents found the car observed in the video and conducted surveillance at Soto's home on Jan. 30. A search warrant was obtained for Soto's residence, Soto's person and the vehicle late that morning, and Soto was detained in a traffic stop at 12:13 p.m.

According to the complaint, agents found a partial blue pill in the vehicle, which tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, along with other drug paraphernalia. Soto was placed under arrest.

While being escorted to the squad car, Soto informed the officer that he also had some pills on him. Police found an additional 12 round blue pills on Soto, which all later field-tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.