Arlington man facing murder charges in fentanyl death

Murder charges have been filed in the fentanyl death of a Winthrop man.

Erick Lee Alvarado, 25, faces one count of felony 3rd-degree murder in Sibley County Court.  He was charged in early January in connection with the May 2023 death of Jose Roberto Cardenas Jr, who would have turned 27 this month.

According to a criminal complaint, Cardenas’s father discovered his son unresponsive in their 6th St home on the morning of May 21.

Winthrop police arrived to find Cardenas upright, his back to the wall, unresponsive and cold to touch.  The complaint said Cardenas had blood coming from his nose and foam at his mouth.  He was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

Cardenas’s cause of death was determined to be caused by the effects of fentanyl, according to the complaint.

During a five-month-long investigation, Winthrop police discovered multiple text messages between Alvarado and Cardenas.

Police say on May 19, Cardenas contacted Alvarado and asked him for M30s, a counterfeit oxycodone pill that is often laced with fentanyl.  Alvarado said he could get the pills for $3 each and told Cardenas to drop off his money in a Gaylord mailbox, according to the complaint. The men agreed that Cardenas would get five pills and Alvarado would get two.

The next day, Alvarado allegedly texted Cardenas to pick up the pills in Nicollet, where they were stored inside the gas compartment of his vehicle.

Police say cell phone data shows that Cardenas was at Alvarado’s home shortly after 6 p.m. on the evening of May 20, and he was dead in just over 12 hours.  He still had 4 1/2 M30 pills remaining after his death, according to the complaint.

Alvarado is due in court next for a March 14 omnibus hearing.