Minnesota Legal Blog

The opioid crisis has been in the headlines across the United States. Marijuana has also been featured in many headlines as more states are legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use. In Minnesota, there are more arrests across the state for methamphetamine than there are for opioids.

Approximately 37 percent of arrests in 2017 in Minnesota were drug-related, and about 74 percent of drug charges were for methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is the top reason for drug arrests in about 30 states.

A Minnesota man had to have his stomach pumped after he reportedly took cocaine that was hidden between his butt cheeks and ingested it while in police custody. The incident took place in mid-November in Rochester.

According to local media reports, Rochester police received a report about property damage by someone who could have a gun. Responding officers encountered the defendant, age 25, and searched him. While patting him down, they reportedly felt an object the "size of a bouncy ball" in the rear of his pants. They placed him under arrest and transported him to the local jail for processing. During the journey, he apparently retrieved the ball-shaped object, which was filled with cocaine, from his pants and ingested the drugs. After arriving at the jail, he began coughing. Officers then noticed white powder around his nose and took him to St. Mary's Hospital to have his stomach pumped.

Throughout history, many people in Minnesota and elsewhere have gotten away with various crimes. However, most of them didn't make the mistake of drawing unwanted attention to themselves by taunting that they would "never be caught" on social media.

On Oct. 8, a 31-year-old woman wanted on 16 outstanding warrants was arrested in Michigan City, Indiana. She was taken into custody after members of the Twin Cities Apprehension Team found Facebook posts in which she claimed that she would "never" be apprehended for her alleged crimes. The team posted several of her messages on its Facebook page and began looking for her, searching various properties in North Dakota and Minnesota before locating her in northern Indiana. She was found less than 24 hours after TCAT officers posted her messages. A local informant reportedly told authorities where she was hiding out.

Minnesota football fans may be interested to learn that Aaron Neary, currently a center on the Los Angeles Rams practice squad, was detained for driving while intoxicated on Sept. 16. The incident occurred in Simi Valley, Calif., during the early evening hours. Local police were alerted to the alleged incident when 911 calls began coming in claiming that a person was driving their vehicle erratically.

Witnesses alleged that the individual driving the vehicle had crashed into multiple objects, including mailboxes, trash cans and a bus stop sign. Furthermore, the motorist continued to drive erratically after the collisions. Officers located the vehicle and pulled over Neary, who was believed to be drunk after a Breathalyzer field test was administered. He blew a BAC level of .17 percent, which is more than twice the legal limit.