Drug charges dismissed against pair in Watonwan County
May 9—ST. JAMES — After a man and woman were accused of having a "pharmaceutical smorgasbord" in their van in Butterfield in January, all charges against them were dismissed Monday in Watonwan County.
Jeremiah Ray Weerts, 45, had faced four felonies for drug possession, a misdemeanor for giving police a false name and a misdemeanor for fleeing police. Erica Allyson Boerner, 40, faced four felonies for drug possession.
The dismissals in Watonwan County District Court were the result of "prosecutorial discretion," according to court records.
During a court hearing in February, a public defender representing Boerner argued for all evidence found in the vehicle to be suppressed due to there being "no probable cause" for a search.
One of the Watonwan County sheriff's deputies at the scene reportedly noticed a pipe in the vehicle after leaning her head into the open window. Breaking the plane of the window, the public defender argued, constituted a search, but the deputy didn't have "probable cause to believe there was evidence of a crime" when she conducted the search.
Deputies pulled over the van driven by Boerner on Jan. 14, according to a criminal complaint. Weerts was a passenger in the van at the time.
After the deputy noticed the pipe, a search by law enforcement officers reportedly turned up 123 grams of methamphetamine along with other drugs in the van.
At one point during the search, a deputy reported Weerts said "have a good one, man" before taking off running. Weerts reportedly slipped on the ice and was arrested.
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