Crime & Safety

Troopers Find 1.5 Pounds of Pot After Arresting Motorist in Maple Grove

Minnesota State Patrol troopers say Matthew Martin Nagel had 651 grams of marijuana in his car when they stopped him Oct. 2 on Interstate 694.

A Benson, Minn., man is facing felony drug charges after state troopers say they found almost a pound and a half of marijuana in his car in Maple Grove.

Matthew Martin Nagel, 23, is charged with fifth-degree drug possession, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Minnesota State Patrol Sgt. Dan Beasley, troopers were on patrol just after 11 p.m. Oct. 2 when they got a report of a motorist eastbound on Interstate 94 in Rogers who was driving erratically.

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The caller said the car had swerved into his lane and almost hit his car. He continued to follow the car and stayed on the phone with troopers, advising them on the suspect car’s location.

Troopers caught up with the car about five minutes later and followed it, watching the driver cross the highway’s dividing line twice, according to the complaint. They stopped the car on the shoulder of Interstate 694 between Hemlock Lane and Highway 169 in Maple Grove.

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As troopers approached the car, they saw the driver, later identified as Nagel, making “furtive movements,” apparently placing something under the seat, according to the complaint.

When Nagel rolled down his window to hand over his driver’s license, troopers said they smelled a "strong odor of burnt marijuana" and a "large, multi-colored glass smoking pipe" on the passenger seat with black residue in it.

Troopers searched Nagel’s car and, according to the compliant, found two brown paper bags and two plastic bags containing suspected marijuana, along with a cardboard box on the back seat with more of the substance inside.

Nagel was arrested. The substance tested positive for marijuana, which weighed 651 grams, or 1.43 pounds.

Nagel admitted to troopers that he “regularly” grows marijuana, according to the complaint.

Nagel has been released from custody on a $3,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Nov. 6 in Hennepin County District Court.


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