Rochester Police Find Cocaine in Home of Rochester Man Serving Sentence for Newborn’s Death

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man who was convicted of assault in a case involving the death of a newborn is now facing drugs and weapons charges. 

See Also: Suspect in Deadly Mass Shooting at Minnesota Park Arrested 

That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County court on Thursday.

The charges say law enforcement found evidence of the alleged drug sale activity through a series of text messages. 

Cocaine,Drug Sale Evidence Found in Home of Rochester Man Serving Supervised Release Portion of Prison Sentence

28-year-old Chaz Elijah Moore is charged with one count of second-degree drug sales, one count of third-degree drug possession and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. 

The criminal complaint says Rochester police obtained a warrant to extract data from the phone of 32-year-old Che Jones, who was charged in a drug bust earlier this year. 

During the data extraction, investigators discovered a series of messages between Jones and Moore regarding buying and selling drugs, the charges allege. 

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On June 10, authorities looked through the trash at Moore’s residence in northeast Rochester and found baggies with cocaine residue and baggies with cannabis labels on them, the complaint says. 

That same day, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the home and found 16.5 grams of cocaine, 295.4 grams of marijuana, 45 THC vape cartridges, $9,565 in cash and a working digital scale with cocaine residue on it, the charges allege. 

Police also found a 9mm bullet and an unknown amount of THC gummies, the complaint says. 

At the time of the drug bust, Moore was serving the supervised release portion of a 94-month prison sentence he received for a first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault conviction, according to Minnesota Department of Corrections records. 

He was accused of causing his ex-girlfriend to undergo an emergency C-section after pushing her hard onto a bed during a confrontation in 2017.

Police said the baby eventually suffered from a loss of oxygen and later died. 

Moore is currently being held at the Olmsted County Jail on $5,000 conditional bail. He made his first court appearance Thursday and is due back in court in August.