2 men plead guilty to dealing heroin in case that left 2 dead on northern Minnesota reservation

Two men have pleaded guilty to heroin distribution on a northern Minnesota Indian reservation in a case that also involves a shooting that killed two armed intruders.

Bryan Boardman, 25, of Minneapolis, and Franklin Jackson, 23, of an unknown address, each pleaded guilty in federal court in St. Paul last week to conspiracy to distribute heroin, while Boardman also admitted to using a gun during a drug-trafficking crime.

Fellow defendant Kristopher Sullivan, 24, address also unknown, has pleaded not guilty to the same charges leveled against Boardman.

Federal prosecutors chose not to pursue murder charges.

According to the defendants' guilty pleas and documents filed in court:

Over the first three weeks of October, Boardman, Jackson and Sullivan were dealing heroin on the Red Lake Indian reservation.

In the early morning of Oct. 21, they met on the reservation in a trailer hauling heroin that was brought from the Twin Cities and belonging to Jackson's girlfriend. They intended to contact potential customers to let them know heroin was available.

About 6:30 a.m., three masked gunmen broke into the trailer intending to rob the dealers of their drug stash.

Boardman fired eight shots from a 9-millimeter pistol and killed two of the intruders, James Rojas III, 32, and Dustin R. Barrett, 26.

The third intruder was wounded in the leg by the gunfire and fled from the scene.

http://www.startribune.com/2-men-plead-guilty-to-dealing-heroin-in-case-that-left-2-dead-on-northern-minnesota-reservation/508962152/