State extends plea offer in overdose death case

The La Crosse County woman charged in connection with the overdose death of a Rhinelander man last January is scheduled to be back in court early next year following a pretrial conference on Nov. 21.

During last week’s appearance, Stephen Sawyer, the attorney for Andrea Jean Walker, advised the court that the state has extended an offer to the defense. He also noted that he recently filed a request for additional discovery information in the form of Facebook records.

“We’re going to need time to contemplate the offer and to continue our investigation,” Sawyer advised.

After the state offered no objection, Oneida County circuit judge Mike Bloom scheduled another pretrial conference for 11:30 a.m. Feb. 13, 2024.

Walker, 42, of Bangor, is charged with one count of first-degree reckless homicide-drug delivery.

Walker is accused of being “the middleman” in a drug transaction wherein the Rhinelander man purchased heroin and methamphetamine. 

According to the criminal complaint, the man was found dead in his Rhinelander home days after the alleged transaction took place in western Wisconsin.

The state crime lab later determined his cause of death was mixed drug toxicity/overdose (fentanyl and methamphetamine).

The criminal complaint details the police investigation that took place after a family member found the man deceased.

“A large pile of white crystalline substance” was located on a dresser and a bed in the room where he was found, and other drug paraphernalia was located elsewhere in the residence, the complaint states.

A family member who had been living with the deceased told police the man had been “acting weird” and “bumping into things” the night before his death. The family member also told police the man had recently traveled to the Tomah area and was acting “very hyper” since he returned. 

The complaint also details investigators’ application for and use of search warrants to obtain Facebook and phone records tying Walker to the deceased, including references to a meeting between the two in La Crosse County days before the man was found dead.

In mid-May, Rhinelander officers interviewed Walker while she was being held in the La Crosse County jail, the complaint notes. During the interview, she admitted to being involved in a transaction between the deceased and individuals in La Crosse County in late January.

“I guess it’s my fault if I’m the middleman,” she said, according to the complaint. 

The Class C felony carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison upon conviction.

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].