Jun. 25—BEMIDJI — A Redby man has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for third-degree murder after he provided fentanyl to a woman who later died from a drug overdose in April 2023.

According to a release from Beltrami County Attorney David Hanson, 33-year-old Jeffrey Needham, of Redby, has been convicted on a single count of third-degree murder — sell/give/distribute schedules I and II controlled substance. The sentencing comes after law enforcement found that Needham was involved in the drug-related death of a woman last year.

According to court documents, on April 26, 2023, the Bemidji Police Department responded to a call to investigate an unresponsive woman as a possible victim of a drug overdose.

The woman was taken to the hospital where she died the following day, the release said. An autopsy concluded that the cause of death was a fentanyl overdose. Law enforcement learned during the investigation that Needham had been selling fentanyl in the Bemidji area.

After entering a guilty plea, Needham admitted during his plea hearing that he gave fentanyl to the victim and that as a result, it was foreseeable that someone could die. On June 18, Needham was sentenced to 78 months in prison.

“Fentanyl continues to be one of the largest dangers in our community,” Hanson said in the release. “(I) would like to thank all of the hard-working members of the Bemidji Police Department and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, who helped investigate this crime. County Attorney Hanson would also like to thank all of the staff of the Beltrami County Attorney’s office who put in many hours on this matter; specifically, Assistant County Attorney Symon Schindler-Syme.”