WILLMAR - The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a District Court ruling in Kandiyohi County in the conviction of Luis Miguel Gallegos, 36, of Willmar, for first-degree drug sale.
He is currently serving a 65-month prison sentence for his convictions on two felony counts on Dec. 18, 2017, in Kandiyohi County.
Gallegos argued that evidence seized from his home should have been suppressed. The search warrant was based on the discovery of a small amount of methamphetamine on his person, and lacked probable cause to search his residence for evidence of illegal drugs, drug sales or drug distribution, he stated in his appeal.
Police found a syringe with methamphetamine on the tip of the needle in the pocket of his pants when they came to arrest him at his residence for failure to make a court appearance in June 2017.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's finding that the drug-tipped syringe provided grounds for a search warrant to search for drugs in his residence. Officers seized a total of 71.6 grams of methamphetamine in the subsequent search, along with three digital scales and a mirror.
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The discovery of the drug-tipped syringe and the fact that Gallegos was home alone at the time indicate a fair probability that additional evidence of drugs would be found in the defendant's residence and established the legal grounds for the search, the Court of Appeals ruled.
