Charges dismissed for 2 men accused of delivering meth into Minnesota
APPLE VALLEY, Minn. -- Criminal charges have been dismissed for two men in connection to the interception of 40 pounds of methamphetamine that was bound for the Twin Cities.
Ivan Trujillo-Palacios, of Apple Valley, and Luis Alfredo Felix-Verdugo, of Las Vegas, Nevada, were charged in July with four felony drug charges in Dakota County. Their charges were dropped on Tuesday.
A third man, Axel Fuentes-Tlaseca of Apple Valley, is still scheduled for an October hearing and a November trial.
The charges came after the Kansas Highway Patrol stopped a carrier transporting a vehicle known to be used by Felix-Verdugo, in which officers found approximately 40 pounds of meth.
Shortly after the meth was intercepted in Kansas, Trujillo-Palacios and Felix-Verdugo were arrested in Hennepin County after driving away from a Burnsville police officer that had pulled them over.
Talking to investigators, Trujillo-Palacios admitted to delivering meth to customers at Felix-Verdugo's direction. Meanwhile, Felix-Verdugo denied having any knowledge of the meth in the vehicle.
On July 2, as part of their investigation of Trujillo-Palacios, officers executed a search warrant at his Apple Valley residence, where he lives with Fuentes-Tlaseca.
Fuentes-Tlaseca, who was at the residence at the time of the search, was arrested after police found small bags of narcotics inside his wallet.
Investigators said they also found meth during their search inside a vehicle on the property, which they suspect contains a total of 80 pounds of the drug.
Details as to why the charges against Trujillo-Palacios and Felix-Verdugo were dropped were not released.
If convicted of the charges, which include both possession and intent to sell, Fuentes-Tlaseca could face decades behind bars.