State-level charges were dropped against a Minnesota man accused of possessing 27 pounds of marijuana during a 2014 bust in Hudson.
According to St. Croix County court records, one count of THC possession with intent to deliver and one count of methamphetamine possession with intent to deliver against Vincent M. Benshoof, 32, White Bear Lake, Minn., were dismissed April 20.
According to a dismissal order signed April 16 by St. Croix County Circuit Court Judge Scott Needham, Benshoof had been convicted in May 2014 of federal conspiracy to distribute meth, heroin and cocaine charges in Minnesota. The dismissal order states Benshoof will be sentenced in the fall and that the charge carries a minimum 10-year penalty.
“Dismissing this case now without prejudice is in the interests of judicial and financial economy,” the motion states.
The motion allows for state-level charges to be re-filed if Benshoof is not sentenced in federal court or if he doesn’t receive a prison sentence.
The local charges stemmed from a Jan. 11, 2014, incident in Hudson. According to a criminal complaint, authorities went to the Regency Inn (near Exit 4) for a report of a woman being held against her will in a room where drugs and counterfeit bills were being manufactured.
While investigating the report, officers encountered Benshoof, whose rented car was found to allegedly contain 27 pounds of pot and another 14 grams of meth.
Officers searching the car also found a Hennepin County, Minn., receipt for the seizure of $13,000 in cash and a Lincoln MKZ. It was also learned that Benshoof was out on a $100,000 bond at the time of the arrest in Hudson.
Sentencing guidelines on the federal conspiracy charge call for a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of more than 14 years.
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