Guilty Plea in Rochester Drug Case Involving More Than $14K Cash

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A convicted drug dealer who was arrested last summer following a major drug bust in Rochester now has another felony conviction on his record.

21-year-old Ronald John Christianson today entered a guilty plea to a first-degree drug possession charge. He was originally charged with three counts of first-degree drug sales, an additional count of first-degree drug possession, second-degree drug possession, and being a convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition.

The charges stemmed from a raid conducted by the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office and the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team at a residence in the 1500 block of 6th Avenue Southeast on June 30, 2023. Court documents indicate that before the execution of the search warrant, Christianson was seen leaving the property in a vehicle and was subjected to a traffic stop while officers entered the residence.

The criminal complaint says a search led to the discovery of nearly 785 grams of methamphetamine, 538 "M30" pills that tested positive for fentanyl, a fully loaded gun magazine, two jigs often used to manufacture so-called "ghost guns," and a large scale covered in residue. Investigators also confiscated more than $14,000 in cash and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia.

Court records indicate that at the time of his arrest, Christianson was serving a five-year supervised probation sentence for a first-degree drug sales conviction connected to a drug bust at the University of Minnesota-Rochester in 2022. He remains in the Olmsted County jail with his bail set at $450,000 pending his sentencing hearing later this month.

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