Carver County authorities have added 33-year-old Leah Victoria Peterson to their fugitive list with a new “Wanted Wednesday” alert, stating that she is wanted on felony charges including failure to appear, aiding and abetting third-degree murder, and alleged sale or distribution of Schedule I and II drugs. The notice indicates that she was last seen in Minneapolis.
Officials are stressing one important point: do not try to detain her yourself. Residents are instructed to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency and leave any arrest attempts to law enforcement.
The Carver County Sheriff’s Office released a digital wanted poster on Facebook, identifying Peterson as 33 years old, 5’09” tall, 160 pounds, brown hair, and hazel eyes.
According to the ad, she is sought on charges of failing to appear, aiding and abetting third-degree murder, and selling or distributing Schedule I and II prohibited narcotics. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the sheriff’s confidential tip line or complete the warrant tip form at carvercountymn.gov.
Peterson’s name has appeared previously in local court media. The Star Tribune reported in 2017 that Leah Victoria Peterson was charged with third-degree murder in the January 2017 death of a man tied to carfentanyl.
That prior reporting explains why a homicide-related aiding-and-abetting claim has been added to the current wanted notice, in addition to the drug and failure-to-appear allegations mentioned by the sheriff’s office.
Carver County’s “Wanted Wednesday” campaign releases digital posters about once a month, positioning them as a public safety tool rather than an invitation to play amateur bounty hunter. The county provides a confidential tip line at (952) 361-1224, a non-emergency dispatch number at (952) 361-1231, and directs all emergency calls to 9-1-1.
The campaign also directs users to an online warrant-tips form housed at carvercountymn.gov, where the county outlines how tips are gathered and distributed.
Minnesota law holds a person criminally accountable for another person’s crime if they “intentionally aid” or obtain it, as per Minn. Stat. § 609.05 (revisor.mn.gov). Minn. Stat. Section 609.195 defines murder in the third degree, which carries a jail sentence of up to 25 years, according to revisor.mn.gov. Those statutes are consistent with the assisting and abetting murder language on the Carver County wanted poster.
The sheriff’s office says it will receive tips and transmit them to investigators, but it emphasizes that members of the public should not try to make an arrest. As the case progresses, any changes, including the possibility of an arrest, will be posted on the department’s social media streams and official county pages.
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