LCO Woman Found Guilty of Reckless Homicide in Fentanyl Death

By Terrell Boettcher

Sawyer County Record

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Hayward area resident Mary Ann Hammond has pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree reckless homicide by delivering Fentanyl to a Northwoods Beach woman who later died in a hospital.

Hammond, 35, 15950 Third Street, Hayward, was charged in the death of 53-year-old Lisa D. Quagon, 7725N Dixon Avenue in the Town of Bass Lake, on June 12, 2020. The court charges state that Hammond caused the death of Quagon by delivering Percocet pills (Fentanyl and Hydrocodone), which Quagon used.

Hammond remains in custody at the Barron County Jail. She appeared in Sawyer County Court before Judge John Yackel Dec. 12 for a plea hearing. A status conference was held Monday, Jan. 23, and a further status conference will be held Feb. 14 for the court to consider pre-sentence investigations prior to her being sentenced.

At the plea hearing, the prosecutor and defense attorney recommended that Hammond be sentenced to two years in prison followed by six years extended supervision. She would be assessed $654 costs and ordered to have no contact with two individuals unless advised by the Department of Corrections. The amount of restitution would be determined later.

As part of the plea agreement, two charges against Hammond of first-degree recklessly endangering safety of two other women who also consumed the pills at the Dixon Avenue residence June 9, 2020, were dismissed but read in.

Dismissed on the prosecutor’s motion were charges against Hammond of felony bail jumping, possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia Dec. 3, 2021.

The court file states that on June 9, 2020, at approximately 5:51 p.m., emergency medical responders and officers were dispatched to the Dixon Avenue residence. The dispatcher informed responding units that two subjects in the residence were unconscious and unresponsive. Upon arrival, an LCO tribal police officer observed first responders attempting life-saving measures on two victims.

After the victims were taken to the hospital, the officer spoke with a woman who stated they had taken Percocet. The officer gained permission from the homeowner and located a pill container in a pair of pants that one of the victims had been wearing in a back bedroom. The officer observed several pills, a rolled-up dollar bill and a straw. The officer field-tested the straw, which tested positive for heroin.

On June 13, an LCO police officer met with a woman to talk about the overdose death of Quagon. The woman stated that she and two other women including Quagon purchased six pills that appeared to be Percocet pills from Mary Ann Hammond. After purchasing the pills, they crushed them and shared them between themselves.

The woman said that five minutes after consuming the pills, she “felt very high, which was unusual for the amount she believed she was using.” The two other women stated they also were feeling the effects. One woman left the room and the other woman noticed (Quagon) beginning to overdose,” the woman told the officer.

Quagon was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth for medical care. After receiving medical care, the second woman called Hammond and talked to her on the phone in front of the third woman. After the conversation, the second woman told the third woman that Hammond had “received the pills from the cities.” She showed the third woman Facebook messages between herself and Hammond discussing the purchase of the pills.

On July 1, an LCO police officer met with a woman, who stated she and the other women had “set up (via Facebook Messenger) to buy blues,” 30-milligram Percocet pills, for $50 per pill from Hammond. She stated that Quagon bought four pills and she and she and the other woman bought two. She said they crushed two pills, made three lines between the three of them and snorted the powder. She stated that after snorting the powder, she “attempted to get an air conditioner and woke up in the hospital.”

On July 18, the officer met with Hammond at her residence and asked if Hammond sold the drugs to the woman. Hammond replied, “Yes I gave them to her.” Hammond stated she told the woman that “the drugs were strong since she (Hammond) took a quarter of one, and warned her of how strong they were.”

The St. Louis County assistant medical examiner stated that Quagon died on June 12, 2020, “due to the toxic effects of fentanyl and hydrocodone.”

On Aug. 1, 2020, the officer met with Sawyer County Coroner John Froemel, who stated that Quagon died of a lethal dose of fentanyl.