St. Cloud authorities disrupt major fentanyl operation, resulting in multiple arrests

ST. CLOUD — After a roughly nine-month investigation, the St. Cloud Police Department’s SWAT team and the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force busted a St. Cloud fentanyl operation last week, which involved at least eight perpetrators.

The months-long investigation into several fentanyl dealers tracked the sale and/or confiscation of at least 7,600 individual fentanyl doses and 1.73 grams of cocaine, according to court records.

It all started in late 2023 when authorities became aware of Devounteono Tyson, also known as “Krusher,” who was allegedly distributing large quantities of pressed fentanyl pills. According to a criminal complaint, his alleged operation was run in collaboration with his roommates Richard Ayler, commonly called “Rick Mob,” and Trae Patterson, also known as “Fatt Trae,” out of their Breckenridge Avenue North residence in west St. Cloud, not far from downtown.

The three roommates were unemployed in the traditional sense, and court records allege Patterson told someone on the phone that nothing about the household's activities were legal.

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Investigators enlisted the help of several "confidential reliable informants," who allegedly communicated with and purchased substances from the trio and their colleagues. As the informants built rapport with the alleged drug dealers, court records state they allegedly collected intel by noticing communication tendencies, overhearing conversations and in some cases driving the fentanyl dealers to their suppliers.

These instances helped investigators collect evidence through first-hand surveillance, electronic conversations and recordings, which, according to criminal complaints, ultimately helped authorities pinpoint the trio’s roster of suppliers both in the St. Cloud area and the Twin Cities.

According to criminal complaints, this information helped St. Cloud law enforcement officials track down their alleged St. Cloud-based suppliers, Vantavian Duckworth and Keyonna Patterson. Duckworth and Keyonna Patterson allegedly have a romantic history, and Keyonna Patterson is the sibling of Trae Patterson. Duckworth and Keyonna Patterson were also caught for allegedly selling fentanyl pills, according to court records.

When the trio's fentanyl pill supply was low, they would allegedly distribute materials made out of their St. Cloud home. These alternative pills were made "using a hand-driven press," the criminal complaint states. Sometimes Tyson would allegedly sell raw fentanyl powder as well.

Duckworth and his colleague Lance Buckingham, also known as “Smurf,” were allegedly suppliers for at least two other dealers, with one of those being Isaac “Suave” Ohman of Sartell.

Authorities concluded Ohman’s portion of the investigation in April, the criminal complaint states, which resulted in him being convicted of two felony charges for selling fentanyl and one felony firearm possession charge after authorities seized nearly 4,700 fentanyl pills, a large chunk of the investigation's total 7,600 pill yield. He was sentenced to 90 months in prison after he pleaded guilty, according to a June 2024 sentencing order by Stearns County Judge Andrew Pearson.

Duckworth, Tyson, the Patterson siblings and at least one of their drug dealers are being held at the Stearns County Jail, according to its online roster. Duckworth, Tyson and Trae Patterson are being held on $2 million bail without conditions. Keyonna Patterson is being held on $1.5 million bail without conditions and $500,000 with conditions. Bail has yet to be set for Ayler.

Stearns, Benton and Sherburne counties have seen a combined total of roughly 90 drug sale arrests since 2021, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension . The three counties combined have seen roughly 2,380 drug possession arrests in that same time frame. Marijuana-related incidents consist of roughly half of these arrests.

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What is fentanyl?

Fentanyl is an opioid drug typically used to help surgery patients with severe pain, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and is 100 times more potent than morphine.

The DEA said illicit fentanyl is primarily manufactured and brought into the country through Mexico. It is also mixed with other illicit drugs to increase its potency and is easily concealed as prescription opioids when pressed into pill form, like what the alleged St. Cloud perpetrators did.

"Because there is no official oversight or quality control, these counterfeit pills often contain lethal doses of fentanyl," the DEA states.

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The DEA's website states that 42% of pills tested for fentanyl contain at least 2 mg of the drug, which could be deadly. Between 2020 and 2021, the DEA said overdose deaths using synthetic opioids like fentanyl increased by about 55%.

Fentanyl gives users the feeling of relaxation, euphoria, pain relief, sedation, confusion and urinary retention, according to the DEA.

Corey Schmidt covers politics and courts for the St. Cloud Times. He can be reached at cschmidt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud authorities disrupt major fentanyl operation, resulting in multiple arrests