Rochester Man Imprisoned For Fatal OD Guilty of New Drug Charge

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man who was sent to prison 11 years ago for a conviction connected to a fatal drug overdose has pleaded guilty in another drug case.

Olmsted County court records indicate 59-year-old Demetrious Deal was arrested in January of last year as a result of a narcotics investigation by Rochester police. The criminal complaint in the case says the investigation began when law enforcement observed suspected drug sale activity in downtown Rochester.

photo by Kim David TSM

Drugs Found After Traffic Stop

The court document says that led to a traffic stop that was initiated for a malfunctioning brake light. The officer reported observing signs of impairment, and Deal admitted using crack cocaine about two hours earlier and fentanyl the previous night.

According to the charges, a search of Deal’s clothing led to the discovery of a little less than a gram each of cocaine and fentanyl. Following his arrest, a search conducted at the Olmsted County Jail led to the discovery of a baggie containing fentanyl that weighed about 28 grams.

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Case Settled Through Plea Agreement

Deal was charged with first-degree drug sales, first- and fifth-degree drug possession, and misdemeanor DWI. His trial on the charges was scheduled to begin next week, but Deal today entered into a plea agreement and admitted to one of the felony drug charges and DWI.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in June with the plea agreement recommending a nearly five-year prison sentence.

Charged With Murder After Drug Overdose Death

Court records show that Deal was given an eight-year prison sentence in 2015 after he pleaded guilty to a second-degree drug charge. His guilty plea was part of a plea agreement that led to the dismissal of a third-degree murder charge and two other felony drug charges.

He was accused of selling heroin to a 39-year-old man who died from a drug overdose in May 2014.