Rochester Man Admits to Drug Sales, Faces 5-Year Prison Term

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man is expected to receive a prison sentence for a drug-dealing conviction.

Thirty-three-year-old Matthew Jonathan Marquette was arrested last year after law enforcement executed a search warrant at a residence in southeast Rochester. Court documents say Olmsted County deputies removed three adults from the home after entering the residence and later found Marquette in a bedroom wearing a jacket and a backpack.

Deputies Say Suspect Tried to Flush Drugs During Raid

The criminal complaint states that investigators also discovered several surveillance cameras and a monitoring station set up in the room where they found Marquette. The complaint says the evidence indicates Marquette was flushing suspected drugs down the toilet as deputies approached the home.

Inside the bathroom, law enforcement located a baggie containing an off-white substance floating in the toilet bowl. The complaint says they also searched Marquette and found about 20 blue M30 pills, which typically contain fentanyl.

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A search of the bedroom led to the discovery of a ledger notebook containing drug sales information, a plastic container with a substance consistent with cocaine or fentanyl, plastic baggies packaged in weights typical for drug sales, a digital scale, and other drug paraphernalia.

READ MORE: Charges: Minnesota Felon Was Flushing Evidence During Rochester Drug Bust

According to the charges, in addition to the M30 pills, investigators seized 14.3 grams of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine and 7.7 grams that tested positive for fentanyl.

Marquette was charged with two counts of second-degree drug sales and one count each of second- and third-degree drug possession.

Separate DWI Case Linked to Fentanyl Use in 2021 Arrest

Under a plea agreement filed in Olmsted County Court this week, Marquette has agreed to plead guilty to one of the drug sales charges. He has also agreed to plead guilty to a gross misdemeanor DWI charge stemming from an incident in November 2021.

In that case, court documents indicate he was arrested after being found in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle, slumped over the steering wheel. Testing of his blood revealed the presence of fentanyl and another drug.

Marquette is scheduled to be sentenced next month. The plea agreement calls for a nearly five-year prison term.