Judge advances meth overdose case against Stevens Point man. The victim had swallowed a baggie of drugs, police say
Karen MaddenSTEVENS POINT – A Portage County judge found enough evidence Monday to continue a criminal case against a man charged with selling methamphetamine that killed another man.
Mathew B. Leffel, 41, of Plover, faces charges of first-degree reckless homicide by the delivery of methamphetamine and methamphetamine delivery. Leffel's next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 19. Leffel had a preliminary hearing Monday in front of Portage County Circuit Judge Patricia Baker.
According to the criminal complaint, at 4 a.m. July 8, 2020, a woman reported Jesse Sabin, of Stevens Point, was suffering a possible drug overdose. When they arrived, officers found Sabin dead. He was 37.
The woman who called 911 said Sabin had been out and when he returned and entered the home, he seemed to be panicking, was gagging himself and saying, "I have to throw up."
The woman said she looked on the internet for information on how to throw up and tried different things, including salt water. She said Sabin was on the floor in pain, but when she tried to take him to the shower to cool off she couldn't find a pulse, according to the criminal complaint.
An autopsy showed Sabin died from a methamphetamine overdose. The doctor who performed the autopsy also found a small plastic bag in Sabin's stomach. Police believe he swallowed a bag of drugs to avoid being arrested when he was stopped by officers earlier that day, according to the complaint.
Investigators connected Sabin to Leffel, who he referred to as "B," the first letter of Leffel's middle name, according to the complaint. When they checked Leffel's phone, they found most of the messages with Sabin had been erased except one that indicated Lefell had sold Sabin drugs, according to the complaint.
The woman who called 911 identified Leffel as someone Sabin talked to on social media and who had sold Sabin drugs, according to the complaint.
If convicted, Leffel faces a maximum sentence of 52 years in prison. Leffel is in the Portage County Jail on $250,000 bail set May 11.
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Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KMadden715, Instagram at @kmadden715 or Facebook at facebook.com/karen.madden.33.