The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

September 28, 2012

Robbery report allegedly a botched drug deal

By Dan Nienaber Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — A man who reported he had been robbed of $4,700 in cash after meeting people at a Mankato residence in August was actually involved in a botched drug deal, according to court records.

Police were responding to a disturbance call in the 200 block of East Elm Street at about 3 a.m. when the 28-year-old Lake Crystal man told them he had been robbed. The man said he had been lured to the area by someone claiming a friend of his needed help.

He said two black men attacked him and stole his cellphone and cash when he arrived at the residence. He also claimed one of the men threatened to kill him. The idea to activate the panic alarm on his car, after he was dragged outside, is what finally scared the attackers off, he said.

When police contacted the friend who the man said he was going to help, they were told a different story. That man said he had brokered a deal for the other man to sell a pound of marijuana for about $4,200, according to an affidavit requesting a search warrant. He also said he suspected the men who attacked the Lake Crystal man were the two men he had contacted to buy the marijuana, which they had stolen during the Elm Street altercation.

The informant told investigators his former girlfriend called him to ask about the incident because it took place at her house. He said he contacted his friend, who told him the two men had robbed him and stole his “$4,000 investment.” When he contacted the two other men, they asked him why he cared about what happened, the informant reported.

He also allowed investigators to take text information from his cellphone. The detectives found texts between the Lake Crystal man and the informant who gave police the phone. The texts appear to be arranging a drug deal. There is also a message from one of the men involved in the alleged assault that mentions the deal, the search warrant affidavit said.

The warrant was requested to search information from the phones of the two men who are accused of assaulting the Lake Crystal man and stealing the marijuana. A request was made to search the Lake Crystal man’s phone in an earlier warrant request, which made the incident public.

No charges had been filed against any of the people involved as of Friday afternoon, so their names are not being used.

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