Latest news with #OperationColdFront
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Yahoo
Murder suspect among 12 arrested during special operation in St. Paul
A man accused of murder was among the dozen suspects arrested in St. Paul on Tuesday during a local law enforcement operation targeting fentanyl trafficking and other serious crime. According to the St. Paul Police Department, four suspects were arrested in connection with the three-month "Operation Cold Front" investigation, which aims to combat drug-related crime. Fentanyl-related overdose deaths claimed 180 lives in Ramsey County in 2023, making it the county's leading cause of overdose deaths. The eight others arrested for other crimes during Tuesday's operation include 20-year-old Kastedell Larmarr Thomas Jr., of St. Paul, who is charged with murder in connection with the Oct. 14 shooting death of 42-year-old Nicholas Sletten, of Little Canada. According to the criminal complaint, Sletten drove the suspect and four others to Speedway that evening. After they left the gas station, Thomas Jr. and another man inside the vehicle allegedly produced firearms in an apparent robbery attempt. Thomas Jr. allegedly shot Sletten before he and the other passengers fled the vehicle, charges state. Sletten was found lying next to the vehicle at the intersection of Jackson Street and Wheelock Parkway shortly before 9:30 p.m. that night. He stopped breathing at the scene and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Tuesday's arrests were coordinated and carried out by the St. Paul Police Department's Narcotics, Gang, Criminal Investigations and Special Investigations units and the Ramsey County Violent Crimes Enforcement Team. In a statement Wednesday, St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry thanked the units for their "dedication and determination" and said "violent crime will not be tolerated in our city."
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Yahoo
Operation Cold Front leads to 4 arrests for selling fentanyl in downtown St. Paul
Police arrested four people Tuesday in an operation focused on fentanyl traffickers in downtown St. Paul, the department announced Wednesday. A three-month investigation, Operation Cold Front, has been in response to fentanyl-related overdose deaths, according to police. Law enforcement sought to identify drug dealers in downtown St. Paul around Higher Ground, which provides short- and long-term shelter for homeless people, 'in response to complaints from the community about quality-of-life' and accompanying 'issues caused by the open-air drug marketplace in the area,' according to criminal complaints. 'The drug dealers prey upon the addicted, the mentally ill and the homeless seeking shelter, food and assistance in that area,' the complaints continued. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office has charged the four men, who were arrested Tuesday, with selling drugs. The suspects are 41, 49, 52 and 66. During Tuesday's effort, law enforcement also arrested an additional eight people who were wanted for other crimes, including one man in a St. Paul homicide and another man who was the alleged driver in a drive-by shooting that sent bullets into a residence in St. Paul. 'We continue our commitment to protecting our community from the devastating impact of fentanyl and other illegal drugs,' St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said in a Wednesday statement. 'The results of these joint efforts also reinforce that violent crime will not be tolerated in our city.' In one of the drug cases, an undercover officer and confidential informant went to the Higher Ground area in November and made contact with a 52-year-old man. He told the undercover officer he was selling M30 pills for $5 each and the officer bought six. One of the pills was examined and it tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, according to a criminal complaint. Fentanyl was the main drug identified in opioid-involved deaths in Ramsey County in 2023 and was connected to 180 deaths, according to county data. There were 74 fentanyl-related deaths in Ramsey County in the first half of last year. Crime & Public Safety | Witness to St. Paul murder: Suspect may have been looking for drugs when he shot man in his vehicle Crime & Public Safety | President Donald Trump appeals his New York hush money conviction Crime & Public Safety | Justice Department drops criminal proceedings against Trump co-defendants in classified records case Crime & Public Safety | St. Paul man one of latest defendants in Feeding Our Future scheme to plead guilty Crime & Public Safety | St. Paul man sentenced for aiding shooter in 2019 killing outside University Avenue bar
