New London, Minn., man pleads to drug possession

WILLMAR — Jason Charles Strehlow, 33, of New London, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a fifth-degree drug possession charge for possessing approximately 1.7 pounds of marijuana found in his home in November 2011 by CEE-VI Drug Task Force agents.
As part of a plea agreement in Kandiyohi County District Court, a fifth-degree sale charge plus a gross misdemeanor charge of pistol or assault weapon possession by a user of controlled substance and a petty misdemeanor charge of drug paraphernalia possession will be dismissed. He will be sentenced Feb. 25.
Strehlow and Jessica Rose Johnson, 29, of New London, were both charged in the case. Johnson was sentenced in August to 30 days in jail, a $500 fine and five years of probation on a fifth-degree controlled substance charge.
According to an amended complaint in the case, agents served the warrant on Nov. 9, 2011, on Strehlow’s home along the 1100 block of 201st Avenue Northwest and found 27 ounces of marijuana, in separate containers in the drawers of furniture, in a kitchen cabinet, in a freezer and under a bed, plus drug paraphernalia, a pruning tool that had marijuana residue on it, a scale and multiple guns plus the ammunition for the guns.
The complaint also notes that the street value of the marijuana is estimated at $8,000. The search revealed $900 in $100 bills in a dresser drawer.
Strehlow and Johnson were both arrested and interviewed. Johnson said that Strehlow had harvested approximately 20 marijuana plants he was growing in late September or early October. She said he had been growing marijuana for five or six years, but denied selling any of the drugs. Strehlow also said he had been caring for about 20 plants.