WILLMAR -- Maria Luisa Mendoza, 47, of Willmar, made her first court appearance Wednesday on three first-degree drug sale counts for allegedly selling methamphetamine to a CEE-VI Drug Task Force informant in March 2009.
Unconditional bail was set at $120,000. Her next appearance is May 31 in Kandiyohi County District Court.
According to the complaint, the informant had purchased meth from Mendoza and the purchases were part of an ongoing investigation into drug sales in the Willmar area. The first purchase was March 6, 2009. The informant received 30.9 grams of meth for $700 and the deal was completed near the intersection of County Road 5 and 15th Avenue Northwest.
The informant was offered the opportunity to purchase a full ounce of meth for $2,400 on March 10, 2009, but agents only allowed the informant to purchase $1,000 worth of drugs. That deal was completed at Mendoza's home in the northwest quadrant of the city.
After the deal was complete, Mendoza was taken into custody during a traffic stop and allegedly admitted to selling meth, but refused to say where the money from the deal was and said she had no more meth in her possession.
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She also allegedly said she doesn't use the drug, but sells because she is hard up for money and selling drugs is her only source of income.
Mendoza consented to a search of her residence, which revealed 17 grams of meth, consistent with the remaining drugs that the informant did not buy, and $1,000 cash.
The serial numbers on the cash matched those recorded before the money was provided to the informant for the drug purchase.
