Plea Deal Reached in Large Rochester Drug Bust
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man arrested during a significant drug bust earlier this year has entered into a plea agreement.
46-year-old Panh Thavong admitted to a first-degree felony possession charge in Olmsted County Court Wednesday afternoon. In exchange, another first-degree count and two aggravated felony drug charges, along with two misdemeanor offenses were dropped. Thavong, who has a criminal history dating back to 1991, is scheduled to be sentenced on September 20th.
His latest conviction stems from his arrest in April after a Rochester witnessed what appeared to be a drug transaction involving the driver of a car and a person a bike who had stopped in the middle street near the Mayo Civic Center. The officer followed and pulled over the car a couple of blocks away and placed Thavong under arrest.
A search of his vehicle led to the seizure of one and a half pounds of meth and about $1500 in cash. Investigators then obtained search warrants for some residences and a motel room, resulting in the seizure of another pound and a half of the drug and around $400 cash.
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