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Man charged in fatal overdosePosted: 6/27/03 by John Gessner More than two years after a teen-age girl overdosed on methamphetamine in a Burnsville mobile home, the former homeowner has been charged in her death. Daniel Edwin Jones, 21, is charged with third-degree murder for allegedly providing the drugs that killed 16-year-old Brittany Powell of Coon Rapids. She died shortly after midnight Nov. 7, 2000, at Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville. Jones is also charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly having intercourse with Powell after the drugs had left her in a ìphysically helpless state,î said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom. Jones is also charged with child neglect, child endangerment and a third-degree controlled-substance crime. Jones, who was 18 at the time, has always been a suspect in Powellís death, Backstrom said. But ìreluctantî and absent witnesses kept authorities from building a case, and only recent sworn testimony before the Dakota County grand jury provided information with which to charge him, Backstrom said. A grand jury indictment delivered May 9 remained sealed until Jones was in custody. He was arrested in Prior Lake June 20 after fleeing police who tried to stop his vehicle, Backstrom said. Jones made his first court appearance Tuesday. Heís charged with murder under a rarely used state statute that makes suppliers of illegal drugs culpable for fatal overdoses. The third-degree murder charge doesnít require a showing of intent to kill, Backstrom said. ìItís the first time in Dakota County history, to my knowledge, weíve filed a charge of murder involving the supplying of illegal drugs to a victim who then died of an overdose,î Backstrom said. ìItís not easy sometimes to trace the sources of drugs in these cases.î According to the indictment, Powell came to Jonesí home the afternoon of Nov. 6, 2000, with a then-18-year-old cousin of Jones. Another man in his teens or early 20s arrived a short time later, Backstrom said. ìThere was drug use going on in the home at the time,î Backstrom said. ìMethamphetamine was being taken by at least three of the four individuals, including Brittany Powell.î The group later went via limousine to a ìMonday Night Footballî party in south Minneapolis, Backstrom said. Shortly after arriving Powell began showing signs of a drug overdose, according to the indictment. Jones and Powell returned to his home in the limousine. ìShe was in such a difficult state at that point in time, the limousine driver had to carry her into the home,î Backstrom said. ìShe was incoherent, semiconscious. ... Thatís when we believe the sexual contact took place with this victim.î A DNA sample of Jones matches a sample taken in a sexual-assault examination of Powellís body, according to the indictment. An hour or two after Jones and Powell returned to the mobile home, Jonesí cousin and the other partygoer returned. Powell was unconscious; attempts to revive her with CPR and by immersing her in cold water failed. One of the men wanted to call 911, but Jones protested, according to the indictment. His cousin and the other man drove Powell to Fairview Ridges, where she died shortly after midnight. Powell had lived periodically with Jonesí cousin and his grandfather in Ham Lake, Backstrom said. ìThis was a troubled young woman who was having difficulty and, unfortunately, involved in the use of illegal drugs,î Backstrom said. He said it took ìa significant amount of timeî to identify and locate witnesses in the case. ìWe had reluctant witnesses,î Backstrom said. ìObviously, there was one who was related to the defendant. We needed to convene the grand jury and try to gather as much evidence as we could under oath.î Jones, who has a criminal record, could face up to 98 months in jail on the murder charge, Backstrom said. Bail was set at $900,000 and lowered to $750,000 if Jones meets certain conditions, including having no contact with juveniles and abstaining from drugs and alcohol. Jones, who no longer lives in Burnsville, is unemployed but is a member of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community and ìreceives substantial incomeî from Mystic Lake Casino operations, Backstrom said. John Gessner is at burnsville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com. -- Check out this week's newspaper for more details. | ||
