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MARSHALL -- A plea hearing date set has been set for a former Marshall man charged with drug possession.
Documents filed Sept. 8 in Lyon County District Court said a judge found probable cause for first degree controlled substance crime charges against Dante Maurice Stidman, as well as probable cause for a search warrant executed at Stidman's residence in January.
Earlier this summer, attorneys for Stidman, 48, had challenged whether there was probable cause for the search, and for the charges against him. A criminal complaint alleges that a search executed at Stidman's apartment on Jan. 14 found a crystal substance consistent with methamphetamine in the bathroom toilet. The complaint also alleged the water from the toilet bowl field-tested positive for meth.
In an order filed Sept. 8, District Court Judge Michelle Dietrich ruled that there was probable cause for both the search and the first-degree controlled substance charges. In her order, Dietrich ruled that there was enough of a connection between allegations of drug sales and Stidman's apartment to warrant a search. In her order, Dietrich said the search warrant application included information from confidential informants, text messages allegedly showing drug transactions with Stidman, information from a GPS tracking device on Stidman's vehicle, and a swab from the door handle of Stidman's apartment allegedly showing the presence of meth residue. The swab was taken within 72 hours of law enforcement applying for a search warrant, the ruling said.
Dietrich's ruling also said there was probable cause for the first-degree drug charges. Minnesota law says that, for the purposes of a first degree controlled substance possession charge, the weight of fluid in a water pipe may not be considered in measuring the weight of a mixture containing drugs. The exception is in cases when the mixture contains four or more ounces of fluid. Dietrich's ruling said the weight of the mixture found in Stidman's toilet bowl weighed more than 10 pounds.
Dietrich denied a motion to dismiss the first-degree possession charge for lack of probable cause. A plea hearing date for Stidman was set for Sept. 29.