By Joe Bachman
Editor

STEVENS POINT — A local man faces charges of selling fentanyl patches, which nearly resulted in the overdose death of another man.

According to reports, on March 3, authorities responded to an overdose in in the area of Fremont and Ellis Streets. A man was passed out on the boulevard, and was found to have been chewing on a piece of white plastic. This would later be identified as a fentanyl patch.

Multiple inmates at the Portage County jail would confirm to police that the seller, 27-year-old Tyler Christenson, had taken a number of these patches from a recently deceased family member to sell at approximately $75 per patch.

Not long after this date, Christenson was a part of an undercover operation, which recorded the sale of methamphetamine from the defendant on three separate occasions.

In total, Christenson faces charges of second-degree reckless endangerment, selling narcotics, multiple counts of selling methamphetamine, and bail jumping — in total, these could land Christenson in prison for over 50 years. His next date in court is set for July 9.