Watch CBS News

Minneapolis Man Charged With Smuggling Heroin Into Hennepin County Jail

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 33-year-old Minneapolis man has been charged with smuggling heroin into the Hennepin County Jail and giving it to three inmates who overdosed.

The Hennepin County Attorney's office says Eugene Olson has been charged with second-degree sale of heroin, second-degree possession of heroin and a gross misdemeanor of introducing an illegal drug into a jail.

According to the criminal complaint, three inmates overdosed within a half-hour of each other Wednesday while in the court holding area.

The first inmate walked into the booth and stood leaning against the glass during his brief hearing. Toward the end of the hearing, he appeared to pass out, sliding slowly down the glass and ending up on the floor, unconscious and breathing with difficulty, the complaint states.

Jail medical staff administered a shot of Narcan, a medication designed to counter drug overdoses. They say he needed a second shot for him to return to consciousness. He was then transported to the hospital.

According to the complaint, while the inmate was being treated, deputies were called to another cell where an inmate was lying on a bench having seizures. Medical staff were called and put an oxygen mask on the inmate and injected him with Narcan. Once he was stabilized, he was also taken to the hospital.

Just after 2 p.m., another inmate was being escorted from his cell when he told deputies he didn't feel well and started vomiting. Deputies called a nurse and he was treated. Similar to the second victim, he told deputies he thought he was taking a Tylenol which he received from another prisoner, according to the complaint.

Descriptions by witnesses led deputies to Olson. After searching him, deputies recovered six grams of heroin from his belly button and buttocks. Olson said the heroin was laced with fentanyl, and the recovered drugs are being tested.

Olson was in jail after failing to appear for a court date on two felony car theft cases in Hennepin County. He's also charged with third-degree drug sale in St. Louis County.

He is expected to make his first court appearance Sept. 21.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.