Brooten, Minn., man pleads to drug possession after 4 pounds of pot found in house
WILLMAR -- Joshua Mark Dechon, 39, of Brooten, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a fifth-degree drug possession charge after more than 4 pounds of marijuana was found in his residence by CEE-VI Drug Task Force agents during a search warrant.
As part of a plea agreement in Kandiyohi County District Court, another felony for drug possession, plus a gross misdemeanor for possession of a weapon by a user of controlled substance and a petty misdemeanor for drug paraphernalia possession, will be dismissed. He will be sentenced Aug. 7.
Dechon and Jeremy Peter Wallace, 34, of St. Paul, are both charged in the case. Wallace faces a fifth-degree drug possession charge and a petty misdemeanor for paraphernalia possession. His next appearance is June 4.
The charges were filed after a search warrant was served Dec. 1 on a residence along 270th Avenue Northwest in rural Brooten. Agents were looking for drugs and guns and located Dechon and Wallace in the home.
The search revealed approximately 3.75 pounds of marijuana hidden in multiple beer boxes and other boxes in the living room of the house, plus in the upstairs bathroom and the attic of the house. The complaint notes that someone used the bathroom and attic to dry marijuana plants and strip off the leaves.
There were screens and other equipment in the bathroom and string lines across the rafters in the attic.
Agents swept the floor of the attic and the bagged and weighed the marijuana leaves and residue, which totaled 0.93 pounds.
The search also revealed multiple items of drug paraphernalia, including pot and meth pipes, a small amount of methamphetamine and three shotguns, two black powder rifles and ammunition.
