MAN SENTENCED IN RENVILLE COUNTY OVERDOSE DEATH

A Shakopee man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting murder for his role in facilitating a drug sale that eventually led to the overdose death of a woman in Renville County.  Officials say 28-year-old Joshua Lee Hill entered an alford plea to a single charge of aiding and abetting third-degree murder on December 5th, admitting that the evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict.  The criminal complaint says Hill was among three suspects  tied to a drug dealer days before authorities responded to an unresponsive woman in Morton in October 2023.  He was sentenced to five years in prison which is a downward departure from the presumed sentence in state guidelines because he played a minor role in the alleged drug purchase.