A 24-year-old St. Cloud woman is facing a felony manslaughter charge after her 2-year-old died from accidental fentanyl exposure last year, according to a criminal complaint filed in Stearns County District Court.
Jamacy J. Johnson appeared in court Wednesday after being arrested on a warrant Tuesday night. A judge issued the warrant after Johnson failed to appear for an October hearing on the manslaughter charge. Her next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27.
According to the complaint, staff at St. Cloud Hospital contacted police in April 2022 after Johnson and her boyfriend brought the child to the hospital under suspicious circumstances. Johnson told staff the child had eaten a Benadryl tablet and became very sleepy and stopped breathing, the complaint states, but initial toxicology reports showed no evidence of Benadryl.
Staff told police the child suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage. The child died two days later. An autopsy listed the cause of death as accidental fentanyl toxicity.
A search of Johnson's apartment yielded several plastic bags with pills — which later tested positive for fentanyl — accessible to a toddler, as well as powder from what appeared to be crushed-up pills on a desk. A search of Johnson's phone showed text conversations about purchasing fentanyl prior to the child's overdose, the complaint states.
Overdose deaths involving fentanyl have increased in recent years. According to St. Cloud police, 19 people in St. Cloud died from an overdose involving fentanyl last year — up from 14 in 2021, eight in 2020 and two in both 2018 and 2019.
