Thorp man convicted in fatal OD case

Chris Vetter, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·2 min read

Jun. 28—CHIPPEWA FALLS — A Thorp man has been convicted for his role in a fatal drug overdose case from March 2019, where a 24-year-old Holcombe woman died.

Zachary W. Dietrich, 30, pleaded no contest to first-degree reckless homicide via delivery of drugs on Monday in Chippewa County Court.

Judge James Isaacson set a sentencing date for Nov. 7. Dietrich posted a $3,000 cash bond in March 2021 and remains free at this time.

Dietrich and 29-year-old Dylan E. Henderson, also of Thorp, were both charged with first-degree reckless homicide by delivery of drugs and manufacturing amphetamines. Henderson also is charged with operating a drug house and possession of cocaine. Dietrich also is charged with resisting an officer.

Henderson, who remains incarcerated on a $10,000 cash bond, is due back in court July 21, and a three-day trial is set to begin Oct. 25.

In all likelihood, Dietrich will be called to truthfully testify in that trial, prior to being sentenced.

According to police reports, Breana J. Heuer, 24, of Cadott and Henderson provided meth to Dietrich on March 22, 2019, and Dietrich shared those drugs with Carissa R. Kasmeirski of Holcombe who died the following day from an overdose at a home at 25251 27th Ave. in the town of Birch Creek. Kasmierski had stopped breathing; a coroner arrived and pronounced her deceased at the scene.

An autopsy was performed in Minnesota two days later after Kasmeirski's death, which confirmed she died from using meth.

Dietrich told law enforcement he purchased the drugs from Heuer at a business in Chippewa Falls. The investigator was able to obtain video surveillance from that business and observed the drug sale occur.

Police had performed a search warrant of Henderson's Bloomer home in July 2019 and located heroin.

In May 2020, Judge Steve Cray sentenced Heuer to 3 1/2 years in prison and 3 years of extended supervision for her role in Kasmeirski's death. During that sentencing, assistant district attorney Roy Gay announced that more charges in the death were going to be filed.

During her court proceedings, Heuer admitted to police that Henderson provided the drugs. Police checked Henderson's DNA, and it matched what was found on a baggie at the scene.