Rochester Man Sentenced For Drug Bust Tied to New Mexico Warrant
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man has been ordered to prison for a major fentanyl bust two years ago that was a result of a nationwide extraditable arrest warrant issued by authorities in New Mexico.
58-year-old Jeffrey Charles Podolske was arrested by Rochester police in 2002 after he was spotted driving a motorcycle without license plates and an officer initiated a traffic stop. According to the criminal complaint in the case, the officer witnessed Podolske placing a leather vest in the saddlebag on the motorcycle as he was being pulled over.
The court document says the motorcycle was later searched and officers found 685 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl in the leather vest, which also held about thousand dollars in cash. The charges also indicated that another $1600 in cash was found on Podolske as he was being searched.
Podolske, who previously had a New Mexico address, was charged with first-degree drug sales and second-degree drug possession. Under the terms of a plea agreement reached in August, he admitted to the second-degree drug possession charge in exchange for the dismissal of the first-degree count.
Podolske was sentenced this week to 78 months in prison. He was given credit for the 93 days he spent in jail following his arrest two years ago.
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Gallery Credit: troy dunken
