Litchfield, Minnesota, man found with more than a pound of methamphetamine convicted of selling drugs

Dale Morin, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·3 min read
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Apr. 27—LITCHFIELD

— A 37-year-old man was sentenced to 105 months of prison after pleading guilty to a first-degree drug sale charge in Meeker County District Court.

Nickolas William Hurd was sentenced March 13, and Judge Stephanie Beckman gave him 181 days credit for time served.

In exchange for his plea, all other charges in Hurd's case were dismissed, including a charge of first-degree possession and two fifth-degree possession charges. Hurd also pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree possession in a separate case, for which he was sentenced to 107 months with 172 days credit.

The sentences, nearly nine years in both cases, are concurrent.

Convicted offenders in Minnesota must serve at least two-thirds of their sentence in custody before being considered for supervised release.

According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Hurd's expected release date from the Minnesota Correctional Facility is Moose Lake is Sept. 25, 2028.

According to the complaint, CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force agents and other law enforcement officers executed a narcotics search warrant in the 400 block of Terrace View Drive in Litchfield on April 14, 2021. Agents also possessed a search warrant for Hurd's person and his vehicle.

Hurd and an adult female were detained during the search of the home.

Multiple drugs and paraphernalia were found in the house, including more than a pound of a crystal-like substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, five pills later determined to be oxycodone and 10 clonazepam pills, according to the complaint.

Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant. Oxycodone is a semi-synthetic narcotic painkiller. Clonazepam is benzodiazepine, and usually prescribed to reduce anxiety, muscle spasms and seizures.

According to the complaint, officers also found more than $1,000 cash in Hurd's wallet. A search of Hurd's vehicle also yielded 2.2 grams of methamphetamine with packaging, and a crystal shard from underneath the driver's seat that field-tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine.

According to the complaint, law enforcement officers later learned of a storage unit in Litchfield that Hurd was renting. A subsequent search warrant was executed there, and officers found around 119 grams of a green and leafy substance that field tested-positive for marijuana.

The other case, in which Hurd pleaded guilty to first-degree possession, stemmed from a search warrant executed at another Litchfield residence on Sept. 23, 2022. Agents searched a house on 173rd Street and found Hurd and another adult male in the residence.

According to the criminal complaint, 51 M-30 pills that field-tested positive for fentanyl and more than 328 grams of methamphetamine were found inside the bedroom where Hurd was detained.

Fentanyl is a potent opioid used as a painkiller and anesthetic.

Hurd's public criminal history record includes three previous felony drug convictions in Meeker County. He was previously convicted on two counts of third-degree drug sale in October of 2015 and was convicted of fourth-degree drug possession in April of 2018.