Alyssa DuCharme didn't want to cry during the short court hearing Wednesday in Anoka, but it was the first time in months she had seen the man now in handcuffs and jail garb.
The hearing was for Timothy LaMere, 21, accused of supplying a synthetic drug that killed 19-year-old Trevor Robinson, the father of DuCharme's 14-month-old son. Court documents say Robinson took the drug 2C-E at a party in Blaine in March and died hours later. Ten others also took the drug and became ill.
DuCharme was surprised so little happened at the hearing, other than the setting of an April 16 trial date and of one more pretrial hearing in February. LaMere, who has been in jail since March, also requested a medical furlough to meet with a surgeon.
DuCharme, 18, said she knew LaMere before the March party, which she did not attend. She said that Robinson and LaMere weren't close friends but that at one point LaMere had lived with his family for a few months.
Although several of Robinson's relatives said they have mixed feelings about the felony third-degree murder charges against LaMere, DuCharme isn't at a place where she can forgive.
"Why would anybody defend him?" she asked after the hearing.
"I would like there to be consequences for his actions," she said.
The case drew the scrutiny of law enforcement and politicians nationwide as well as heightened concerns about synthetic drugs. Web-based retailers have become an easy place to obtain synthetic drugs even though many states, including Minnesota, have recently started enforcing laws aimed at reducing access to so-called research chemicals, bath salts and other synthetic substances.
