The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

July 23, 2008

Suspect accused of bringing cocaine to jail

By Dan Nienaber

MANKATO — Awaiting trial for a drug-possession charge while technically serving a prison sentence for a previous drug conviction, a 28-year-old Mankato man is now charged with bringing cocaine into the Blue Earth County Jail.

Preston Michael Overton has a long history of drug-related crimes in the Mankato area, including being tied to the 1999 murder of a drug informant. The latest charges were filed Wednesday and accuse Overton of having cocaine in his jail locker.

Jail guards were doing a search when they found eight pink pills and a small plastic bag containing cocaine, according to the criminal complaint. The drugs were found in a black bag that was in a locker used by Overton, who was allowed to leave the jail to go to work during the day.

Overton has been in jail since June 10, when he was sentenced to prison for a February 2004 third-degree drug possession conviction. He had been placed on probation after the conviction, but the probation was revoked by District Court Judge Norbert Smith after Overton was arrested April 4 for a new drug possession charge.

In that incident, Overton was pulled over by a Blue Earth County sheriff’s deputy while driving on Highway 22. Overton’s car was searched after two people who were with him, including his teenage brother, gave the deputy incorrect names.

Three small bags of cocaine and four small bags of marijuana, all weighing about 4 grams each, were found during the search, according to that complaint. A total of $1,120 in cash also was found in Overton’s pocket and about 20 grams of marijuana allegedly were found in another bag in the back seat of the car.

Overton is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 11 for the fifth-degree drug possession charge that resulted from that arrest.

In 2000, a Blue Earth County jury found Overton guilty of aiding an offender after a trial related to the murder of 42-year-old Wayne Raymond. Another jury had found 28-year-old Rashad Darnell Norwood guilty of murdering Raymond, who had been working as a drug informant.

Overton was found guilty of assisting Norwood after the murder. He was sentenced to a year in jail, which he already had served prior to the trial, and placed on probation for three years.

During Overton’s bail hearing Wednesday for the new charges, he said his last day of work was July 17. The issue came up because Overton was applying for a public defender to represent him.

His bail was set at $50,000 without conditions or $25,000 with conditions even though he is under a Department of Corrections hold until at least November. The hold was placed on Overton because he is finishing the prison sentence issued in June.

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