Murder Charge Filed After Body Found In St. Louis Park Apartment

ST. LOUIS PARK, MN — A Minneapolis man is accused of selling the heroin which police say killed a man in St. Louis Park earlier this year. Zachary Gontard, 37, faces a third-degree murder charge. His bail was set at $50,000.

According to the criminal complaint, St. Louis Park police were sent to an apartment on the 4300 block of Minnetonka Boulevard on May 23 where parents had gone to check on their son, whom they had not heard from in two days.

Police found the 23-year-old victim lying on his bathroom floor and also found bindles of suspected heroin and hypodermic needles in the apartment. The autopsy found he died from a mix of heroin and fentanyl, according to a news release.

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Further investigation found a series of phone contacts between Gontard and the victim, with Gontard saying he could sell him heroin, according to police. Authorities say on May 19, they agreed to meet at the Camden Tavern and Grill on Lyndale Avenue North.

Surveillance cameras show Gontard meeting with someone and apparently buying the heroin, according to police. Not long after that, the cameras show Gontard meeting with the victim, the criminal complaint states.

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