Suspect in overdose death charged with stealing from relative
Published 2:50 pm Thursday, July 14, 2016
A 20-year-old Austin man charged with third-degree murder is now facing additional charges after being accused of stealing more than $13,700 from a relative.
Jordan David Flugum was charged this week with two felonies: financial transaction card fraud and theft.
In May, he pleaded not guilty to felony third-degree murder for allegedly selling heroin to a 20-year-old Austin man who later died of an overdose.
In the theft case, Flugum is accused of stealing $6,300 in cash from a lockbox at a relative’s Lansing Township home and taking $7,730.82 through charges on that same relative’s debit card, according to court records.
The relative met with a Mower County deputy on June 7 and said that Flugum admitted to taking the cash and using the debit card without permission from April 4 to May 3 at Wal-Mart and Austin’s three Kwik Trips. The relative also implicated a deceased male as also involved in the incident.
The relative discovered the crimes after returning home from the hospital.
Deputies reviewed security footage from Wal-Mart and Kwik Trip and identified Flugum, though he wore a hat and hooded sweatshirt in the Wal-Mart footage.
In an interview with law enforcement, Flugum admitted taking the debit card and writing down the PIN, according to court records. He said he often used it to make small purchases and get money back, which he used to buy heroin. He told deputies he never let anyone else use the card.
However, Flugum denied taking the cash from the lockbox, but he admitted to being familiar with it and a bank bag. He told deputies he found the bank bag at the home of the deceased male, adding he confronted the man and the two got into a fight over it.
In the third-degree murder case, Flugum allegedly took a 55-inch TV from the victim in March and acted as a go-between, trading it with a heroin dealer in exchange for about a gram of heroin worth about $200, according to court records. Flugum and the victim used the heroin together, after which the victim showed the signs of an overdose but recovered enough to go home. However, he passed away a few hours later.
Flugum is slated for a Sept. 16 pre-trial and Sept. 26 jury trial in the third-degree murder case. His next court appearance in the theft and financial fraud case is scheduled for July 25.