Jan. 10—BEMIDJI — Two men have been sentenced for their roles in a homicide that took place in August 2023 near downtown Bemidji.
Forty-two-year-old Joseph Eason, of Little Falls, was initially charged with first-degree manslaughter, however, this charge was later dropped and he was convicted of aiding an offender/accomplice after the fact. He was sentenced on Jan. 2 to 69 months at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud with 476 days of credit for time served.
Thirty-seven-year-old Daniel Eason, also of Little Falls, was initially charged with aiding an offender after the fact, but this charge was dropped and he was convicted of second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony. He was sentenced on Jan. 7 to 165 months at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud with 419 days of credit for time served.
According to the initial release
from Bemidji Police Captain David LaZella, at 11:10 a.m. on Aug. 12, law enforcement responded to the request for a welfare check on a resident in the 1200 block of Minnesota Avenue Northwest.
Upon arrival at a residence in that area, officers discovered a deceased male, later identified as 29-year-old Jared Eason. After extensive investigation, detectives believed that Eason died of homicidal violence, the initial release said.
Reports from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office document the cause of death as blunt force injuries. Bemidji police detectives, along with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, processed the scene for evidence and interviewed several people.
As a result of the investigation, then 40-year-old Joseph Robert Eason and 36-year-old Daniel James Eason were arrested for their involvement in Jared’s death, according to a release from Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin.