Brooklyn Park man charged with murder in Tennessee man’s overdose

A warrant has been issued for a Brooklyn Park man accused of providing drugs to a Tennessee man who overdosed earlier this year.

Prosecutors in Washington County have charged 41-year-old Benjamin Theron Fraser with third-degree murder.

Court documents state that Woodbury police were called to Woodsprings Hotel on June 22 after a man was found unresponsive and cold to the touch. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers learned the man was a Tennessee resident who was in town working as a roofer. Drug paraphernalia was found in his room, and the man’s cause of death was later determined to be fentanyl toxicity.

Investigators learned the victim had associated with a person in a neighboring room, who told officers she’d helped arrange a drug deal between the victim and a man she knew as “Bennie” two days earlier. Officers were able to identify “Bennie” as Fraser.

Cellphone records from Fraser, the victim and the neighboring resident showed drug-related text messages that confirmed the woman’s story, according to court documents.

As of Thursday, Fraser wasn’t yet in custody. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in jail.