Traffic Stop Leads to New Drug Charges for Rochester Man Serving Sentence for 2022 Cocaine Case

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man serving a stayed prison sentence for a 2022 drug crime is facing new drug charges following a recent traffic stop in downtown Rochester 

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That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court on Friday. He's set to make his first court appearance this morning. 

A Rochester Police Officer on patrol began following a vehicle traveling south on 1st Ave. Southwest shortly before 2:30 Friday morning. 

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The officer stopped the vehicle after seeing it commit multiple traffic violations at the intersection of South Broadway and 4th St., the complaint says. 

Traffic Stop of Previous Drug Offender Leads to Cocaine Bust in Downtown Rochester

While following the vehicle, the officer also saw it had expired registration and learned the driver had a canceled driver’s license. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officers smelled the odor of burnt marijuana and alcohol, the complaint says. 

The driver, identified as 25-year-old Demontae Shannon Bragg Jr., was arrested following a series of sobriety tests, including a Preliminary Breath Test which returned a result of 0.11, the complaint says. 

Two more officers arrived to assist with arresting Bragg and he was placed in a squad car, the charges say. 

Once at the Olmsted County Jail, Bragg took out a bag that was described in the complaint to be containing “multiple bindles of a controlled substance.” 

The white powder tested positive for cocaine and the baggie weighed 21.2 grams with packaging. Bragg also had two phones and $110 in cash on him at the time of his arrest, the court document says. 

Bragg is charged with a count of first-degree drug sales, third-degree drug possession, gross misdemeanor introducing contraband into a jail, misdemeanor DWI, obstructing the legal process, driving after revocation and no proof of insurance. 

Read More: Rochester Man Who Listed Cocaine for Sale on Snapchat Sentenced

Court records indicate the alleged drug bust occurred less than four months after Bragg was given a stayed prison sentence for a 2022 first-degree drug conviction that stemmed from him allegedly advertising cocaine for sale on social media.

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