A drug dealer convicted of murder was sentenced Monday to a year in the workhouse for supplying the narcotic cocktail that killed one of her co-workers in his Minnetonka home.

Sarah E. Doppler, 29, of Minneapolis, was sentenced by Hennepin County District Judge Jeannice Reding in connection with the July 2017 death of 34-year-old Ryan Briese from ingesting a mix of drugs, including synthetic opioids, fentanyl and an opioid analgesic.

Along with her time in the workhouse, a prison term of seven years and two months was stayed for five years. Conditions of that stay include Doppler paying restitution of $5,400, refraining from consuming alcohol or illicit drugs and undergoing chemical dependency evaluation and treatment.

Doppler's sentence following her pleading guilty to third-degree murder is a downward departure from state guidelines. The prosecution argued for imposition of the seven-year and two-month sentence, which fell within the guidelines.

Defense attorney Bryan Leary argued in presentence filings with the court that Doppler was the intermediary for the drug deal for her boyfriend at the time, who was the actual supplier but not charged in the case.

Leary also noted that his client was receptive to drug treatment, remorseful and has been working two jobs since last fall.

Ryan Briese

Officers called to Briese's home on July 19, 2017, and found him not breathing in front of his computer. He was declared dead at the scene. Police found drug paraphernalia and several tablets nearby with "E8" inscribed on them, according to the criminal complaint.

A friend told police that Briese had said that day that he was going to meet with Doppler, who worked with Briese at Comcast offices in Minnetonka at the time of his death and was known to deal in illicit narcotics.

Briese's cellphone placed him near Doppler's home on the day he died and contained text messages showing his intent to buy pills from her, according to the charging document.

Doppler sold Briese fentanyl, a drug considered far more addicting and deadly than heroin.

Briese attended Bloomington Jefferson High School, where his experience of being cut as a senior from varsity hockey tryouts in 2000 was recounted in the popular nonfiction book "Blades of Glory" by John Rosengren.

Briese went on to play with the Bloomington Amateur Hockey Association's youth Junior Gold team, worked at a car dealership two years after graduation and kept skating recreationally, according to the book.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482