WILLMAR -- Joshua Mark Dechon, 39, of Brooten, made his first appearance Thursday on two felony drug charges for allegedly possessing methamphetamine and more than 4 pounds of marijuana found by CEE-VI Drug Task Force agents during a search warrant.
Unconditional bail was set at $10,000. His next appearance in Kandiyohi County District Court is Jan. 23.
Dechon also faces a gross misdemeanor for possession of a weapon by a user of controlled substance and a petty misdemeanor for drug paraphernalia possession.
Dechon and Jeremy Peter Wallace, 34, also of Brooten, are both charged in the case. Wallace faces a fifth-degree drug possession charge and a petty misdemeanor for paraphernalia possession. His first appearance on the charges is Thursday.
According to the complaint, 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 the located Dechon and Wallace in the home.
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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.
The men were interviewed and Wallace alleged told agents that he'd been staying at the home for a month and that he didn't know exactly what went on at the house. He did allegedly admit to smoking pot with Dechon and said that he'd seen Dechon smoke meth with others there.
Dechon told agents that there was very little marijuana at the house. He allegedly acknowledged the meth pipes and admitted to smoking meth and marijuana but not to selling it. He denied drying or processing marijuana at the house and said he wasn't the owner of the guns.
