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Breeann Lenore Krueger was sentenced Wednesday, June 4, 2025 to 117 months in prison for her conviction of third-degree murder. The sentencing stems from the November 2022 death of Justin Rops of Pipestone.
On April 15, Krueger pleaded guilty to the charge, admitting to selling fentanyl in a powdered form to Miranda Michelle Sanow. Sanow pleaded guilty last year to third-degree murder, admitting that she sold Rops the fentanyl that caused his death and indicating that she purchased the fentanyl from Krueger.
Krueger will receive credit for time served of 239 days and must serve a minimum of 78 months in prison. If she meets all the terms of the sentencing order she could serve the final 39 months under supervised release.
Prior to the sentencing, Leah Erickson, lead attorney for the State of Minnesota, read a number of victim impact statements. In addition, Rops’ mother, Tish Kalla, and other friends of Rops’ in the courtroom read impact statements of their own. These statements painted a vivid picture of the life so wrongfully taken.
The statements told the story of a young man who was caring, compassionate, humble, athletic, and hard-working. Rops was shown to be a man who “loved his people,” who “showed that others mattered,” and who “was the sunshine in the room.”
Beyond painting a picture of who Rops was, the statements told of the emotional and physical pain inflicted by the actions of Krueger. The victims told of their personal struggles with grief following his death and the large network of people affected. It wasn’t just his immediate family or closest friends who were touched, it was friends of friends, cousins, uncles, grandparents, past teammates, community members and so many more.
The statements also spoke to a life taken too soon. Rops was just 25 years old at the time of his death. Steve Rops, Justin’s father, told of all the ‘firsts’ he was able to enjoy with his oldest son, then wrote, “He [Justin] will never get to enjoy those firsts with his own children.” A number of victims spoke of his future plans to become a special education teacher, to marry and start a family, to toss a ball in the yard with his children, and to enjoy rounds of golf and talk all things sports.
“The tragedy isn’t in who he was, but the future that will never be,” said Justin’s mother Tish.