n Kody Blair Koepp, 18, of Lake Lillian, was sentenced to five years of probation and 30 days in jail Friday after pleading guilty in December to one felony count of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance.
Misdemeanor charges of possessing marijuana in a vehicle, having no proof of insurance and driving an uninsured vehicle, plus a petty misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed under the December plea agreement.
Koepp will receive credit for four days in jail and a five-year stay of adjudication on his sentence, which means if he complies with the court's conditions, the conviction will not appear on his record. He was also ordered to complete a chemical dependency evaluation, abstain from alcohol and drug use and pay $1,200 in restitution.
The charges stemmed from a traffic stop on Oct. 24 in Lake Lillian. A Kandiyohi County sheriff's deputy stopped Koepp's vehicle for having tires that extended past the fenders of the vehicle and the deputy smelled marijuana smoke when he spoke to the driver and passenger.
In a search of the vehicle, the deputy found numerous items of drug paraphernalia and bags containing 64 grams of marijuana, which is about 2¼ ounces.
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- Eric Jon Larcom, 28, of Spicer, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to sell a simulated controlled substance for his role in an alleged drug deal on July 16.
A felony charge of second-degree conspiracy to sell 3 grams or more of drugs was dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Larcom entered an Alford plea to the charge, under which he does not admit guilt but concedes there is enough evidence to convict him.
Larcom was released on his own personal recognizance until his sentencing date. Larcom must also abstain from using alcohol as part of his release agreement. He will be sentenced Feb. 24.
According to the complaint, CEE-VI Task Force agents served a search warrant July 16 on a Spicer home after a confidential informant allegedly purchased suspected methamphetamine there from Phillip Christian Rice, 39, of Litchfield. Rice faces two drug sale conspiracy charges and a fifth-degree drug possession charge. Two other men who lived at the home, Troy David Travis, 38, and Jason Robert Peterson, 39, both of Spicer, are charged with felony drug possession.
According to the complaint, the informant informed a CEE-VI agent that Rice had offered to sell an "eight-ball" of meth for $360. The informant had made arrangements for the buy to happen that day. Agents set up the informant and gave her $400 in task force funds.
The informant went to the Spicer residence and later met the agents, handed over the bag of suspected meth and the remaining money. The drugs had a rough weight of 6 grams, but a field test was inconclusive for methamphetamine. The agents informed the informant of the results of the test, and then the informant called Rice and confronted him with the information that the drugs were not good. The informant was supposed to return the suspected drugs to Rice the next day.
However, that evening a number of law enforcement officers served a search warrant on the home and confirmed that Rice, Travis and Peterson lived there. They recovered drug paraphernalia from several rooms in the house, plus cutting agents, a list of products used to make meth, a propane torch adapted to use to smoke meth and a meth smoking device made of a light bulb that contained meth residue. They also found cocaine in the home.
Rice denied that Larcom was at the home during the buy, and said that an audio recording of the buy was of a voice on the radio, and not Larcom.
