A Minneapolis man has been charged with third-degree murder for allegedly selling fentanyl-laced heroin to a childhood friend who then overdosed and died at a White Bear Lake hotel in 2021.

William James Dykes was charged by warrant in Ramsey County District Court on Monday in connection with the death of a 28-year-old man at the Best Western Plus along U.S. 61 on Nov. 8, 2021. Dykes, 30, was not jailed as of late Tuesday.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office opened a case for review in late February, spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint:

Police officers responded to the hotel just before 11 a.m. on a possible overdose and found the man, identified in the complaint by his initials JMN, unresponsive in a second-floor room. Medics transported him to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A 27-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man were in the room when officers arrived and they both said JMN had used heroin shortly before his death. They didn’t tell officers where JMN got the heroin and neither of them made themselves available for follow-up interviews throughout the investigation.

An autopsy showed JMN died of mixed drug toxicity and that he had fentanyl and alcohol in his system.

JMN’s former girlfriend told officers that she had spoken with the 25-year-old man and he said JMN asked him if “snorting heroin was better than smoking it,” the complaint says. JMN snorted the heroin and went unresponsive five minutes later.

Investigators spoke to JMN’s mother. She said that on the night before his death, JMN left his Apple Watch at her home and that she was able to monitor messages between her son and Dykes. She said her son and Dykes grew up together, played football together. Dykes also used to work for her family’s business, she said.

In the messages, JMN asked Dykes when he was going to arrive at the hotel. She said that she called Dykes the morning of her son’s death because she was looking for him. Dykes said he sold her son marijuana.

In a recorded phone conversation, the 25-year-old man told JMN’s former girlfriend that Dykes had delivered what was “supposed to be heroin but that everything is cut with fentanyl these days,” the complaint says.

Cellphone records showed texts between JMN and Dykes that mentioned meeting at the hotel the night before the death. They also showed JMN paid Dykes through Venmo.

Dykes told investigators that he and JMN were childhood friends and that he had worked for JMN’s family for four years. He said he was not sure when he last saw JMN. When asked what he knew about JMN’s death, Dykes asked to end the interview.

Nearly a year after JMN’s death, Dykes received a text message that read, “I don’t blame you for the [JMN] situation,” the complaint says. “And I would never rat on you hence why I never went in to give a statement.”

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Raised in St. Paul’s Frogtown, Dalton Outlaw once dreamed of becoming the champion of the world of boxing, a sport that to him was about a lot more than getting punched in the face.

With a business degree from Concordia University, he opened Element Gym, a social benefit corporation that markets itself as “the best gym in St. Paul,” one geared as much toward kids, seniors and the disabled as toward competitive athletes looking to break into the sport professionally.

The mission of roping in non-traditional boxers while building bodies, hearts and minds has expanded with time, even as it became clear it was time to move on from former digs at the Fairview Business Center.

“I stopped trying to be the best in the world, to be the best for the world,” said Outlaw on Tuesday, standing on Element’s “low boy” ring and training platform at his gym’s new home — the YWCA St. Paul on Selby Avenue.

Commemorative gloves

He was joined there by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and the mayor’s father, Melvin Carter Jr., a regular at the YWCA St. Paul and seasoned boxer who once trained police officers in the discipline at police training academies, as well as a large cast of community leaders. The mayor read into the public record a proclamation proclaiming Tuesday “YWCA St. Paul and Element Gym Day” in the city, before joining his father in signing a giant pair of commemorative gloves.

Prior to Element’s arrival, the YWCA offered some 25 fitness classes per week. With Element’s programs included, it now offers 55 classes, more than doubling its outreach, including boxing classes for members with Down syndrome, said Ashley Booker, chief executive officer of the YWCA St. Paul.

She noted residents had long asked for more structured activities.

“That’s one of the things we were hearing from the community, especially post-pandemic,” Booker said.

‘Rock Steady Boxing’

Four mornings per week, trainer Alfredo Calderon meets with men and women in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s who suffer from Parkinson’s disease. Instead of sparring, his “Rock Steady Boxing” classes focus on coordination — no prior boxing experience necessary.

“I teach them from the ground up,” Calderon said. “It’s the training that helps them with their cognitive skills and their movements.”

Booker, who became chief executive officer of the YWCA St. Paul last August, said the new partnership with Element started with a cold call. She’d heard about Outlaw’s community outreach and sensed a kindred spirit in efforts to improve health outcomes for residents of color.

“We’re all about health equity, especially for our BIPOC communities, and specifically Black folk, when we look at the data,” she said. “If you want to move a little, if you want to be part of the community, then you’ve got an option here at the corner of Selby and Western.”

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BALTIMORE — Nearly three frustrating weeks into the season, the Twins have decided that outfielder Matt Wallner needs a reset, both physical and mental.

The Twins optioned the outfielder on Tuesday. The 26-year-old is hitting .080, and one of his two hits on the season was a home run that he hit off of a position player. Wallner has struck out in 17 of 33 plate appearances.

“Sometimes when you talk to a guy and you send him down, option him, sometimes it’s hard for guys to take or accept or be OK with and sometimes everyone knows that it’s actually the right thing to do and the best way to get him going,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think that it’s more of the second one in this instance.”

In his rookie season, Wallner slugged 14 home runs in 254 plate appearances and took hold of a roster spot, providing an important boost for the Twins down the stretch. But after a difficult spring training, the beginning of Wallner’s season has been unproductive and strikeout-filled, and the Twins hope he can get back on track at Triple-A.

“I want Matt to feel like himself as a player and go out there and be able to just simplify things, go do his job. And right now, it probably feels more difficult than it really should be for him,” Baldelli said. “All it takes is for him to just get settled in, go hit some balls good. It probably won’t take that much or hopefully that long for him to feel like himself again.”

To fill his spot on the roster, the Twins have brought back fellow outfielder Trevor Larnach, who was passed up on the depth chart by Wallner last year.

He showed up in Baltimore with a tan — which, in this case, he pointed out was not a good thing.

“It’s because I was in Florida for too long,” Larnach said. “Just happy to be back and see everyone again.”

The outfielder spent an extended time in Florida as he rehabbed from turf toe, which forced him to the injured list to start the season. He just completed a three-game rehab assignment with Single-A Fort Myers and said getting thrown back into the fire was a good thing. But he’s also looking forward to getting his rhythm back.

He said he felt as if he had just gotten into a rhythm with his swing this spring before the toe injury popped up. So while he tried to swing with it for a little bit, he wanted to be smart and not push it so the injury wouldn’t come back around later in the season.

“When he’s going good, he can drive the ball to all fields,” Baldelli said. “He gives you a threat in the lineup, and he’s healthy and feeling good right now. So I think (it’s) a good opportunity for him and a good way for us to get him in the lineup”

Duran update

Jhoan Duran has consistently said throughout his rehab from a strained oblique that he’s fighting off boredom. That boredom is lessening as he gets closer to a return.

Duran threw 25 pitches in a bullpen on Tuesday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. While his command initially felt rusty once he returned to throwing, he said it’s coming back, and he’s starting to get closer to where he needs to be.

He’s expected to next throw on Friday when he faces hitters at Target Field. In the meantime, being on the road trip and around his teammates has at least helped keep him occupied.

“It’s better here,” he said. “I try to bring that energy to my teammates and be in the game, concentrate on it. It’s good for me.”

Briefly

The Twins signed veteran Tony Kemp to a minor league deal to help address the lack of infield depth they have with injuries to Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis and minor leaguers Brooks Lee and Michael Helman. Kemp began the season with the Orioles but was recently designated for assignment. Kemp has mainly been a second baseman and left fielder during parts of nine big league seasons.