Murder charge in overdose death dismissed
Jun. 5—The case against a Rochester man charged with murder in a fatal overdose in February has been dismissed.
Lam Mathaing Yieb, 23, was charged in April in Olmsted County District Court with third-degree murder-sell/give/distribute a controlled substance.
On June 3, the Olmsted County Attorney's Office filed for a dismissal, saying there is insufficient evidence for the state to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Yieb was arrested on April 7 and made his first court appearance on April 9 when Judge Christina Stevens set conditional bail at $150,000 and unconditional bail at $300,000. Yieb's Conditional bail was lowered to $50,000 on April 22 and court records indicate he posted bond four days later.
At the time of his arrest, Yieb "categorically denied that he sold drugs, denied that he sold cocaine or a pill to victim and that he had last seen victim approximately 1 1/2 or two weeks before his death," the complaint states.
A 22-year-old man died on Feb. 4 of a fatal overdose. The man, whose identity was not released, was found to have "suffered from combined toxic effects of fentanyl and cocaine," according to the autopsy report from the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner.
