Minot man pleads guilty to felony murder in overdose death

MINOT, N.D. – A Minot man has pleaded guilty to criminal charges resulting from the overdose death of a 16-year-old girl.

Thirty-three-year-old Mark Rodgers Jr. entered pleas Wednesday to felony murder of a minor, tampering with evidence, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and maintaining a premises for drug use.

Rodgers is accused of injecting the girl with a mixture of methamphetamine and fentanyl on Dec. 14, 2020 at a Minot hotel.

A prosecutor says Rodgers frantically called friends and acquaintances and asked them to bring Narcan to the hotel to reverse the overdose, but that he did not call 911 and told friends not to call authorities.