Charges: Man Pulls 15 Grams Of Meth Out Of Underwear During Jail Strip Search
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An Owatonna man surprised officers at the Rice County Jail Wednesday morning during a strip search.
The Rice County Attorney's Office says Faribault police officers were called to a Days Inn just after 3 a.m. Employees notified police that a smoke alarm in one of the rooms had been triggered several times.
Officers discovered that the man who rented the room, 21-year-old Joshua Patrick Kempe, had a warrant out for his arrest. Kempe was arrested without incident, and other people with him in the room were asked to leave the premises.
Soon after arriving at Rice County Jail, Kempe was informed that a strip search was needed. Officers say Kempe was "nervous" and "fidgety," and refused to take off his underwear.
Kempe eventually reached into the back of his underwear and pulled out a small plastic bag filled with 15 grams of meth.
He faces one count of second-degree drug possession and a count of introducing contraband into jail. He could face up to 26 years in jail if convicted.