Local News
Hankel Gets Long Probation For Fatal Heroin Overdose
It took two months to locate the suspect in a drug overdose death…three months to reach a plea agreement…and then five months until the man was mentally well enough to be sentenced.
But now, the case of Malachi Hankel is done in La Crosse County Court. Hankel will be on probation for eight years, and serve a few more months in jail, for providing Tom Tremain with heroin last fall. Tremain died from a combination of drugs and alcohol. Assistant D-A Edward Minser says Hankel helped solve the case by leaving a note for Tremain after the victim took the drug:
Judge Todd Bjerke says the case is unusual, because Hankel was cooperative and apparently didn’t try to profit from the drug sale. But Bjerke says he hopes Hankel will remember Tremain every day, and perhaps some good will come from this case.