Albert Lea man pleads guilty to possession

Published 8:01 am Friday, May 19, 2017

A 33-year-old Albert Lea man has pleaded guilty to charges after a speeding stop uncovered more than 730 pills.

Logan Michael Netzer pleaded guilty Thursday in Mower County District Court to felony fifth-degree drug possession and misdemeanor fourth-degree DWI as part of a plea agreement. He’d originally faced five counts, three of them felonies.

According to a court complaint, a Minnesota State Patrol trooper clocked Netzer passing his squad car in a 2016 Mazda 6SP going 84 mph in a 70 mph zone of Interstate 90 in Dexter township at 11:04 a.m. on Sept. 22.

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After stopping Netzer, the trooper noticed his eyes were watery and bloodshot and his pupils were constricted. He spoke quickly and often changed subjects.

He told the trooper he was driving from his home in Albert Lea to his work in Rochester, but the trooper believed he was under the influence of a controlled substance.

When Netzer exited the car for field sobriety tests, the trooper noticed a large meat cleaver in his door pocket, which Netzer said was for self-defense.

The trooper found two prescription bottles through a pat search and then found another bottle and baggies in the car.

Troopers also found a black case Netzer said contained electronics and should “not be shaken like a Christmas present,” but troopers found pills in the bag.

In all, troopers found 334 amphetamine pills and a 398 Clonazepam pills. A small case was also found containing a white powder that tested positive for methamphetamine.

Netzer failed four field sobriety tests and was transferred to the Mower County jail, where he told authorities he arranged the pills in a way that he could keep track of how many there were, but he claimed he was not selling them.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 28.