WILLMAR - A Willmar man was sentenced Monday to 50 months in prison for allegedly possessing methamphetamine.
Justin James Tersch, 32, pleaded guilty to the second-degree drug possession felony charge Feb. 5 in Kandiyohi County District Court.
According to a criminal complaint, agents of the CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force, along with the Willmar Police Department, executed a search warrant June 11 at a Willmar home on the 200 block of 18th Street Southwest.
There, in a locked safe, task force members allegedly found four bags that each tested positive for meth. Together, the four bags contained over 30 grams of the substance.
The complaint on the charge says the color, consistency, and packaging of the meth was consistent with a June 4 controlled buy.
A controlled buy typically involves an undercover police officer or witness purchasing illegal items from a criminal suspect.
Police arrested a woman in the home, who allegedly admitted to selling meth, but told police that the bags in the safe belonged to Tersch.
Tersch was originally charged with first-degree drug sale and first-degree drug possession. But as part of the Feb. 5 plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree possession and the first-degree possession charge was dropped.
Court documents say he also received a penalty for having previous fifth-degree drug possession convictions in 2004 and 2005. Tersch will serve 50 months in prison at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud, with credit for 171 days served.
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