DULUTH, Minn. — A Duluth man who allegedly sold a fatal dose of fentanyl to a woman last year has been charged with third-degree murder.

Allen Frederick Briggs, 42, will be arraigned Friday in St. Louis County District Court for the death of 26-year-old Meaghan Lynn Fleischer.

According to a criminal complaint, the victim was found dead in her apartment, 1529 E. Second St., around 10 a.m. Aug. 1. A lighter and tinfoil pieces were found at the scene, and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office cited fentanyl toxicity as the cause.
An investigation allegedly uncovered numerous messages exchanged between Briggs and Fleischer during the early morning hours of July 30. The complaint says the victim was seen asking the defendant to deliver the drugs and the two had a brief phone call moments before she sent $84 to Briggs’ girlfriend via CashApp.

Fleischer, meanwhile, was seen making plans with another man to use the drugs. Authorities said she referenced getting “slo” delivered, which is slang for heroin or fentanyl. The man asked who she was buying from and she replied “Allen,” confirming receipt minutes after her phone call and payment to Briggs.

The man went on to tell investigators that he went to Fleischer’s house around 6:23 a.m., and that he injected fentanyl while the victim smoked it. He reported that he left an hour or two later and Fleischer was still alive.

The complaint says there was a “decent amount” of powdered drugs left over at the apartment when he left, with the witness estimating it to be about a gram.

A warrant was issued for Briggs’ arrest, but he has been at the Douglas County, Wis., jail on a probation violation hold since Jan 9.

Records indicate Briggs has prior felony convictions in Wisconsin for witness intimidation and vehicle theft. He also remains on supervised probation after a felony conviction for possession of burglary tools at Fleet Farm in Hermantown.

St. Louis County prosecutor Vicky Wanta requested the court set bail at $100,000, as Briggs is “part of an ongoing and fatal epidemic in the Twin Ports area.”

She said there were at least 615 overdoses in the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force area in 2022, including 65 fatalities, and preliminary statistics from last year were on pace to set new high-water marks.

Fleischer, according to an obituary, was a graduate of Denfeld High School and Lake Superior College. A mother of two young children, she interned at Recovery Alliance Duluth and planned to study drug rehab and social work at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.

“She was a working single mom and crushing it at being a good role model and influence in their lives,” the family wrote. “Meaghan was one of the best friends anyone could ask for. She made friendships that lasted her whole life because of her caring attitude, warm heart and amazing personality.”

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