Scandia man acquitted of murder in connection to drug overdose

A Scandia man who was charged in connection to a man’s overdose has been acquitted by a jury.

Court documents show a Chisago County jury found John Hofer not guilty of third-degree murder in connection to the death of 51-year-old Erik Nielsen last year.

Nielsen was arrested in July on a felony warrant but, shortly after arriving at the jail, became unresponsive and was pronounced dead in the intake area of the jail, authorities said.

The Chisago County Sheriff’s Office had said Nielsen died of methamphetamine toxicity and investigators tracked the meth to Hofer.