Rochester Woman Loses Appeal of Drug Conviction

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled against a Rochester woman who is serving a prison sentence for a drug dealing conviction.

Appeals Court rejected claims of prosecutorial misconduct

Court records indicate that 35-year-old Coty Marie Bredesen unsuccessfully argued that her conviction should be overturned based on allegations of prosecutorial misconduct involving testimony that vouched for the credibility of a key witness in the case.

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Convicted of drug dealing charges

An Olmsted County jury convicted Bredesen of aiding and abetting first- and second-degree drug sales during a trial in Olmsted County District Court last year. She was sentenced to 56 months in prison.

Photo by Andy Brownell TSM Rochester

2023 narcotics investigation by the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office

Her conviction stems from an Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office narcotics investigation conducted in September 2023. The criminal complaint alleges Bredesen was involved in the sale of more than 28 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential police informant. The court document says she was accused of serving as the driver of the vehicle used to deliver the drugs to the informant in Stewartville.

Minnesota Department of Corrections photo

Second defendant in the case also serving prison sentence 

The second woman charged in the case, 44-year-old Cassia Nisan Chaney-Smith, was accused of facilitating the drug transaction. Court records state that the Shakopee woman was also sentenced to 56 months in prison after entering into a plea agreement last fall and pleading guilty to a first-degree drug sale charge.