Rochester Police Seize AR-15 From Felon During Drug Investigation

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Rochester police seized a firearm from a convicted felon during a narcotics investigation last week. 

See Also: Rochester Meth Bust Sends Repeat Offender Back to Jail 

That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court on Monday. Authorities made a traffic stop and subsequent arrest over the weekend.

Members of the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team conducted a traffic stop in Rochester around 5:30 p.m. Saturday on a vehicle driven by 40-year-old Derrick Nicholson Jr.

The criminal complaint says the stop was part of an ongoing drug investigation. 

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AR 15 Found in Rochester Apartment Following Traffic Stop

A k9 alerted officers to the presence of narcotics during the traffic stop, however no drugs were found during a search of the vehicle, the court document says. 

Investigators found $6,390 on Nicholson Jr., the complaint says. 

Law enforcement detained the Rochester man while executing a search warrant at his apartment. 

Inside the apartment, investigators found a Palmetto State Armory AR15 with a loaded magazine, a plastic pistol lower and a box containing 300 rounds of live ammunition, the court document says. 

Court records indicate Nicholson Jr. was previously convicted of manufacturing/delivering 15-100 grams of heroin in Illinois. 

Nicholson Jr. is charged with possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a violent crime. 

He made his first appearance in Olmsted County Court on Monday and posted his $25,000 conditional bail. Nicholson Jr. is due back in court next month.