On Tuesday, April 19, 2022, the Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force and Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force executed arrest warrants in the Grand Cities Area for 1st-Degree Controlled Substance Distribution and 3rd-Degree Murder. The arrests are the first round in a series of charges resulting from a long-term investigation into the distribution of lethal M30 fentanyl pills known as “Fetty’s” or “Yerks.”
In January, the East Grand Forks Police Department responded to a report of a deceased individual who appeared to have been poisoned by a blue M30 pill. The ensuing investigation was ongoing when EGFPD responded to a non-fatal overdose on Bygland Road, SE, in East Grand Forks in February.
Ultimately the source of the pills was determined to be a group from Chicago and Minneapolis who had been sending multiple distributors to Fargo and the Grand Cities area on a rotational basis; as one would get arrested, others would fill their spots. The group would bring their pills to the area and stay with local distributors until they were sold out. They would then return to the Metro to re-supply.
To date, law enforcement has seized over 1,400 fentanyl pills, which have been selling for $40-$60 each for a street value of approximately $80,000.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional arrests and charges intend to be made in the future.
Arrests to date for charges ranging from murder to possession of fentanyl and fentanyl distribution include:
- Joseph “JoJo” Redding of Minneapolis
- Summer Allery of Grand Forks
- Stephanie Hageman of Grand Forks
- Shaun Cole of East Grand Forks
