A Bloomington man has admitted to selling pills that contained fentanyl and caused a 15-year-old West St. Paul girl to overdose and die nearly two years ago.

Parker Jay Benson was three months shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the girl’s death in April 2022. Dakota County prosecutors charged him as a juvenile with one count of third-degree murder. He was certified to stand trial as an adult last March.

Parker Jay Benson (Courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)

Benson, 19, pleaded guilty to the charge last week, admitting in court that he met up with the girl and sold her four pills, which he believed were Percocet. It was a straight plea, meaning an agreement is not in place other than that the state will argue for just over six years in prison, which falls at the bottom of state sentencing guidelines. Benson’s attorney can argue for a downward departure at sentencing, which is set for April 18.

West St. Paul police were called to the girl’s home about 12:45 a.m. April 20, 2022, on a report that she was unconscious and not breathing. When they arrived, officers found the girl’s mother attempting to revive her. She was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

The Ramsey County medical examiner’s office determined she died of fentanyl toxicity.

According to the criminal complaint, the girl’s mother told police the family had gone to bed about 11 p.m. April 19. The mother woke up later and noticed a light coming from her daughter’s bedroom. The mom went into the bedroom and found her daughter lying face down on her bed with a blue pill next to her. When she rolled her daughter over, she saw the girl’s face was blue. She called 911 and started CPR.

Investigators searching the girl’s phone found Snapchat conversations between the girl and someone named “Parker,” who was later identified as Benson, starting on April 16. That day, she asked him if he would come to West St. Paul and he responded the next day he would do so.

The conversation continued on April 19 with a discussion of “perks” and arrangements for Benson to sell the girl four pills for $60. The two discussed a meeting location — outside the Walgreens in West St. Paul — and at 9:06 p.m. Benson messaged, “pulling up.” The girl messaged that she was in front of the store, adding “thanks bro next time I’ll buy more.”

Later, about 9:50 p.m., Benson messaged the girl and said, “only take like less than a quarter of it.”

Several hours later, at 2:03 a.m., he sent a message asking, “they hitting?”

She didn’t respond.

Google searches on her phone on April 19 showed references to pills, “percs” and how to ingest “percs,” according to the complaint.

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