Rochester Man Admits to Charges Involving Two Large Drug Busts
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man today entered into plea agreements to settle charges stemming from two major drug busts that occurred in August and December 2020.
25-year-old James Siewert entered a guilty plea to a second-degree drug charge connected to a raid at a northwest Rochester home on August 20, 2020. The execution of the search warrant resulted in his arrest and the seizure of just over 1.1 pounds of marijuana, 66 doses of LSD, a quantity of liquid LSD, almost 80 chocolate bars containing hallucinogenic mushrooms, along with some THC wax and nearly $40,000 in cash. He was originally charged with seven felony drug offenses in the case.
Siewert also entered a guilty plea to a fifth-degree felony drug count stemming from a traffic stop on Highway 63 near the Rochester Airport on December 5, 2020. The original complaint included a count of Import of Controlled Substance Across State Borders that carry a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.
The charges in the December 2020 case indicated Olmsted County Sheriff's Office received information that Siewert he and his brother were transporting an amount of marijuana to Minnesota from the western United States. After obtaining a search warrant allowing for the mobile tracking of the brothers, a State Trooper initiated a traffic stop shortly after their vehicle exited I-90 onto northbound Highway 63. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of nearly 9 pounds of marijuana and a number of items used to package the drugs.
Siewert is scheduled to be sentenced in both cases on May 19th.
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