Rochester, MN Traffic Stop for Open Trunk Leads to Meth Selling Discovery

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Olmsted County Court documents say an open truck and numerous equipment violations led to the discovery of a meth distribution operation in south Rochester Monday night. 

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The criminal complaint, filed in court on Wednesday, says a Rochester Police Officer stopped the car as it was crossing Hwy. 63 in the westbound lanes on the 48th St. overpass shortly before 11:30 p.m. Upon approaching the driver, the officer reported seeing baggies containing apparent drug residue in plain view inside of the vehicle.  

The driver, identified as 45-year-old  Bridget Marie Huisman of Rochester exited the vehicle for a search. The officer found 3.5 grams of suspected methamphetamine in Huisman’s purse and arrested her, the charges say. 

Between her arrest and booking into the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center, Huisman alerted authorities to additional meth and digital scales she had on her. Police found a glass vile containing 5.1 grams of meth and multiple baggies containing meth that had names on them, the complaint says. 

Huisman told police that she was on her way to trade one of the bags of suspected meth for a bicycle and to trade another bag for a laptop. She told officers she usually purchases an ounce of meth then trades it for other items. The charges say police recovered a total of 19.9 grams of meth as a result of the traffic stop. 

Huisman was arraigned Wednesday morning on charges of felony first-degree drug sales and felony third-degree drug possession. The judge in the case set her bail at $100,000 without conditions. 

See Also: Rochester Man Charged With Felony Drug Sales for 4th Time This Year

Court records indicate Huisman  was previously convicted of a felony drug crime in Wisconsin’s Eau Claire County in 2013. Her next appearance in Olmsted County Court is set for August 2.