Search Ruled Illegal – Charges From Rochester Meth Bust Tossed

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) -  An Olmsted County judge has dismissed the felony drug charges that were filed against a Hayfield man last October.

The judge recently ruled the arresting officer violated 61-year-old Dean Aarsvold's constitutional rights during a traffic stop in Rochester last fall that led to the seizure of 55 grams of methamphetamine and other evidence of drug sales from his vehicle. Aarsvold had faced two first-degree drug charges; one alleging sales and the other for possession.

The criminal complaint in the case says a police officer spotted a white truck at a "known narcotics residence" in southeast Rochester and watched as two people loaded items from the residence into the vehicle. The officer then followed the vehicle as it drove away and initiated a traffic stop for an inoperable third brake light.

The court document says occupants of the vehicle offered inconsistent accounts of what they were doing and where they were going. The officer also stated that he detected the odor of marijuana, which prompted the search and led to the discovery of six baggies containing meth, an electronic scale, and several other items.

Aarsvold challenged the legality of the police search and after recently hearing testimony and reviewing the evidence associated with the traffic stop and subsequent search, an Olmsted County judge has ruled in his favor. The judge found, "considering the totality of the circumstances," the officer’s investigative questioning went beyond the scope of the traffic stop and "was not supported by reasonable articulable suspicion."