A Minneapolis drug dealer has been sentenced to a 10-year term for providing the heroin that killed an Oakdale man.

Rodney L. Williams Jr., 27, was sentenced last week in Washington County District Court after pleading guilty to third-degree murder in connection with the 2014 death of Blake A. Lindahl in his home in the 4000 block of Gershwin Avenue.

With credit for nearly three years in jail since his arrest, Williams will serve the first 4¾ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

"The opiate crisis in this country has claimed another victim," County Attorney Pete Orput said in a statement. "We will not cease in our efforts to hold opiate and other drug dealers accountable for this scourge."

According to the criminal complaint:

A woman who lived with Lindahl went to use the bathroom about 1:40 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2014, and saw him on the toilet. She called 911 and started resuscitation efforts. She said he had just completed drug addiction treatment.

Police and fire personnel arrived and took over life-saving efforts. One officer located an uncapped syringe between Lindahl's legs.

Medical personnel took Lindahl to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead barely a half-hour after law enforcement was first called to the home. An autopsy found that he had died from a heroin overdose.

A police search of Lindahl's cellphone led authorities to Williams and texts about a drug transaction, which occurred three days earlier. Williams was arrested five months later.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482