Feds indict Brooklyn Park man in heroin-related death

A Brooklyn Park man accused of dealing heroin linked to two Twin Cities overdose deaths has become the first to be indicted in federal court here on charges of distributing narcotics that later killed someone.

A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment this week against Jaime Edward McClellan, 31, who was arrested and jailed in December on state charges of third-degree murder and drug charges in both Hennepin and Anoka counties.

The federal indictment, announced Wednesday by the U.S. attorney's office, reflects rising concern over heroin dealing in Minnesota. It also increases the penalties facing McClellan: Under state law, he faced up to 25 years in prison for the third-degree murder charges; the federal statute comes with a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, with the potential for life.

"As our state continues to grapple with the dangers of heroin and other harmful drugs, law enforcement will remain vigilant in tracking down and prosecuting dealers," said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger.

Known as "Red" by some of his alleged customers, McClellan has been accused of twice selling heroin that later resulted in fatal overdoses in Medina and Anoka last year. His federal indictment addresses only the Medina death in October, but also includes charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin, felon in possession of a firearm and having a firearm while committing a drug trafficking crime.

A close friend of the Medina victim told investigators last year that McClellan warned them to be careful when using the heroin he sold them the night of his friend's death because it was "good stuff (i.e. potent)," according to a Hennepin County criminal complaint.

After a monthlong investigation, Anoka Hennepin Drug Task Force detectives arrested McClellan at a Mounds View gym in December, finding 15 grams of heroin inside his shoes and about $400,000 in cash nearby. He also had a 10 mm semi-automatic pistol he wasn't allowed to possess because of previous felony convictions.

McClellan has been in the Anoka County jail since December in lieu of $2 million bail, and has also been charged with third-degree murder in Anoka County in connection with an April overdose death. A brother and a friend of the victim said they were with him when they purchased heroin from McClellan in a Target parking lot in Brooklyn Park.

The federal indictment comes amid a surge in heroin use here and nationally.

Between 2011 and 2015, seizures of heroin by state and local authorities in Minnesota climbed from 8 pounds to 18 pounds, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The agency reported seizing an additional 112 pounds in Minnesota from 2013 to 2015. The DEA has also noted a rise in heroin deaths reported by medical examiners in eight Minnesota counties — from 16 in 2010 to 73 by 2012. Since 2013, those counties have reported an average of more than 83 deaths a year.

Stephen Montemayor • 612-673-1755