'It Doesn't Bring Andrew Back': Drug Dealer Sentenced In Overdose Death
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 44-year-old Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 100 months in prison for selling drugs that led to the overdose death of an Edina man in early 2017.
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office said that Anthony West was sentenced on Friday to more than 8 years in prison. He pleaded guilty on Nov. 19 to first-degree sale of heroin.
The criminal complaint says the woman told investigators she and the victim met with West on the night of Feb. 24, 2017 and bought what they thought was heroin from him.
The woman and the victim injected the drugs soon after, and then the two parted ways.
The man, 27 Andrew Rau of Edina, was found dead at an Edina home the next morning. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office says the victim had fentanyl in his system, an opioid much stronger than heroin, which is often mixed into heroin.
West was pulled over by police on Interstate 94 in Hennepin County last Thursday, and 30 grams of heroin were found in his underwear. Investigators say West regularly trafficked heroin from Chicago to the Twin Cities.
At his sentencing, a victim advocate read an impact statement from Rau's father: "He [Andrew] was sober for a few years, had a good job and a girlfriend… We realize the element of Andrew's choice in all of this. However, if there were no dealers there would be no choice. We are glad Mr. West is off the streets, but… it doesn't bring Andrew back."
West also pleaded guilty to attempted promotion of prostitution and was sentenced to a 90-month sentence to be served concurrently with the drug conviction.
