ST. CLOUD — A 27-year-old Buffalo man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years probation for providing heroin laced with fentanyl to an 18-year-old South Haven man who overdosed and died two years ago.
Zachary V. Wolf was charged with one felony count of third-degree murder in Stearns County District Court in May 2021 after Landis A. Benton was found dead at a South Haven residence that March.
An autopsy revealed the cause of death as accidental and from the toxic effects of fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl and methamphetamine, court documents state.
Wolf pleaded guilty to the count in December. On Tuesday, Stearns County District Court Judge Heidi Schultz sentenced him to the probation and ordered him to pay restitution of $6,350. Schultz stayed an 85-month prison sentence on condition Wolf adheres to the terms of his probation.
The sentence is a downward departure from sentencing guidelines, which was recommended by the prosecution because they consider Wolf likely to be successful on probation.
In a note to the judge, Wolf said he has undergone intensive outpatient treatment and is sober.
"I am haunted every day by what my choices in life have caused," Wolf wrote in his letter to the judge. "I hope my actions these past several months reflect my willingness to change."
In his obituary, Benton is said to have enjoyed gaming, snowboarding and "drifting in one of his latest beater vehicles," as well as spending time with friends and brothers. He was born in St. Cloud and went to school in Annandale.
