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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of Duluth - Police Department
Mike Ceynowa, Chief of Police
2030 North Arlington Avenue • Duluth, Minnesota 55811 • www.duluthmn.gov
For more information contact:
Public Information Officer, Mattie Hjelseth at (218) 730-5434 or mhjelseth@duluthmn.gov
DATE: 12/6/2019
SUBJECT: Two Charged With Aid and Abet Murder in the 3rd Degree for Overdose
BY: Ingrid Hornibrook

NATURE OF INCIDENT: OD Murder Charges
CASE NO.:
INCIDENT DATE: 11/14/2019
INCIDENT TIME:
INCIDENT LOCATION:

[DULUTH, MN] On December 4th 2017, The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in the City of Rice Lake on a 9-1-1 call for a male found unresponsive.  Sheriff’s Office Deputies and medical personnel found a male they identified as Samuel James O’Leary, 33, deceased.  An autopsy determined O’Leary died as a result of a fentanyl overdose.  The Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force assisted the Sheriff’s Office with the investigation into O’Leary’s death.  In the days that followed, the Task Force executed multiple search warrants in the City of Duluth, chasing the source of the fentanyl that killed O’Leary.  Investigators seized additional amounts of fentanyl and evidence of drug sales as a result of these search warrants.  During one of the search warrants, a male detained by investigators reported having just used fentanyl and had to be hospitalized for a fentanyl overdose.

As a result of the joint Sheriff’s Office and Task Force investigation, the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office formally charged Joanne Rose Smith, 46, of Duluth, and Deshaun Clay Robinson, 20, of Duluth, with Aid and Abet Murder in the 3rd Degree for the death of Samuel O’Leary.  Smith was formally charged on November 14th 2018.  Smith has three previous convictions in Minnesota for 3rd Degree Sale of a Controlled Substance.  Robinson was formally charged on December 5th, 2019.  An arrest warrant has been issued for Robinson.  We are asking for the public’s assistance with locating Robinson.  If anyone has information on his current whereabouts please contact investigators at 218-730-5750. 

The Minnesota State Statute for 3rd Degree Murder aims to hold drug dealers accountable for the death and destruction that they cause by trafficking illegal and dangerous substances.  The Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigates suspected drug overdose deaths in an effort to ensure that drug dealers are arrested and charged in these cases that have a devastating effect on families and our community.

If you or a family member have been affected by opioid addiction, call the Opioid Hotline at 218-730-4009 for help on finding resources to a path to recovery. 

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Robinson
Robinson