A 43-year-old Centerville man was found face-down on his dining room floor by his wife last September after a fentanyl overdose killed him, and investigators traced the drugs back to a dealer they say sold them through an Uber package delivery the day before.
Anoka County prosecutors this week charged the alleged supplier with third-degree murder.
Garrett Alexander Dahl, 36, is charged with one count of third-degree murder for selling a controlled substance that caused a death, according to a criminal complaint.
Centennial Lakes police were sent to a home on Main Street in Centerville around 8:10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, on a report of a suspected overdose, court documents say. The man’s wife had left about half an hour earlier to drop their children off at school. When she got home, she found her husband unresponsive on the dining room floor. She called 911 and dislocated her shoulder trying to roll him over. Medics took over life-saving measures but couldn’t revive him.
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The wife told officers her husband had a history of fentanyl use but she believed he had been clean for three months, though she noted he’d been acting abnormally the day before, according to the complaint. Officers found burnt aluminum foil with residue, a lighter and a metal straw near his body. He also had a large contusion and laceration above his right eye.
The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death as toxic effects of fentanyl. Postmortem toxicology detected fentanyl and its breakdown products in his blood.
Investigators pulled data from his cell phone and found a deleted text thread with a contact saved as “Garrett” going back to June 2025, with messages referencing narcotics transactions, according to court documents. Investigators later identified that contact as Dahl.
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On Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, the day before his death, the victim sent a message asking, “Where can I send the uber. I need 100 worth. Not for me. But I need to do it now.” Dahl responded that he was trying to find a box for the package and eventually sent an address on North Fourth Street, the complaint says. The victim then sent a screenshot showing he had sent Dahl $80 through Cash App.
The address Dahl provided turned out to be an apartment building called the Cameron. The Cash App account was registered to “Garrett Dahl.” Uber records confirmed the victim dispatched a driver to pick up a package at the Cameron, and Cash App records confirmed the $80 transfer, according to court documents. Phone records show the two men called each other about 15 times between 1:03 p.m. and 2:25 p.m. that afternoon.
Third-degree murder for distributing a Schedule I or II controlled substance that causes a death carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $40,000 fine. Dahl’s first court appearance is set for May 22.
