Man Sentenced To 9 Years In Dakota County Drug Bust
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 45-year-old Inver Grove Heights man accused of running a large marijuana operation from his home three years ago was sentenced Tuesday to more than nine years in prison.
Scott Cunningham was sentenced to 110 months in prison in Dakota County Court on Tuesday. He had been charged, along with three others, with one count of first-degree possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Authorities seized more than 400 pounds of marijuana from Cunningham's Inver Grove Heights home in November 2011.
According to the criminal complaint, drug task force agents executed a search warrant at Cunningham's house at 9244 Inver Grove Trail in Inver Grove Heights on Nov. 4, 2011. While there, agents recovered 14.42 pounds of marijuana. Several guns were also seized.
On Nov. 28, agents received a call from an anonymous tipster, who stated that agents missed a secret room during the previous pot bust. The tipster said the room, concealed by a false wall, contained a large amount of pot.
Agents then drafted a second search warrant and, on Nov. 30, executed the warrant. There, agents located the secret room in the lower level of the residence. Inside the room, agents discovered 72 30-gallon Rubbermaid containers filled with marijuana. The containers were stacked, in some cases, to the ceiling.
Authorities estimated that the street value of the marijuana was in excess of $1 million. Seven guns were also seized during the drug bust.
Brian Lee Speldrick, 59, pleaded guilty in the case on Sept. 5 to fifth-degree controlled substance crime and was sentenced to two years of probation. Holly Joann Swenson, 32 of Rosemount and Jerilyn Reis, 44 of Kiester, had the charges against them dismissed.
Speldrick was living at Cunningham' home at the time of the marijuana seizure and the two women stayed at the home periodically.