St. Cloud Man to be Tried in Federal Court for Fentanyl Drug Ring

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A St. Cloud man's drug distribution case has been moved out of state court and into federal court.

Stearns County prosecutors have dismissed the charge against 30-year-old Dimitri Accardo-Rainey because the U.S. Attorney's Office is taking over the case.

Accardo-Rainey is accused of running a drug distribution ring that included selling wholesale quantities of fentanyl pills in the tri-county area.

Members of the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force began an investigation into Accardo-Rainey's alleged fentanyl pill sales in November 2022. Court records show he would often employ others to complete the hand-to-hand transactions after he arranged the terms. Police say he also used different stash houses to complete drug deals and store the drugs.

Get our free mobile app

Authorities say Accardo-Rainey sold fentanyl pills to undercover informants on five separate occasions between November 2022, and January 2023. Each of those transactions was for more than 100 pills and on one of those occasions, the undercover buyer bought just under 200 fentanyl pills.

A search warrant was used at Accrdo-Rainey's southeast St. Cloud apartment and police say they found more than 600 fentanyl pills, $10,000 in cash, and several guns.

Accardo-Rainey is currently on probation from previous felony convictions in Clay, Stearns, and Wright counties.