Authorities Seize nearly 60 Grams of Methamphetamine From an Inver Grove Heights Home

An Inver Grove Heights man is facing felony drug-trafficking charges after authorities seized almost 60 grams of methamphetamine from his home last week.

Jose Osbaldo Medina-Martinez, 22, faces two counts of first-degree drug trafficking, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Dakota County Drug Task Force agents got a call in May from someone who reported a man named Jose dealing methamphetamine from his home.

Agents went to the home last Friday and spoke to two adults who lived there and said they knew nothing about drugs being sold, the complaint says. The two consented to a search of the home and their bedrooms, and agents found a large amount of cash in a dresser drawer in one of the bedrooms, according to the complaint.

Agents then sought and received a search warrant and returned to the home later that day to continue their search. Among the items recovered during that search were two plastic bags containing methamphetamine; a digital scale; a Mexican identification card for Medina-Martinez; and cash in a diaper in a dresser drawer, in a purse and on top of a speaker in one of the bedrooms.

Agents subsequently tested the methamphetamine and determined that it totaled 57.24 grams, or more than 2 ounces. The cash totaled $16,944.

Inver Grove Heights police arrested Medina-Martinez later that day and questioned him at the Dakota County Jail. Police say he initially denied knowing anything about the drugs or money in his bedroom, but eventually admitted that he was selling methamphetamine, buying it for $800 an ounce and reselling it for $1,000 an ounce, according to the complaint.

Medina-Martinez told police that he had been selling methamphetamine for about four months, the complaint says. He said he and one of the other residents of the home are in the country illegally, but told police that the other man knew nothing about the drug trafficking and wasn’t involved in it.

Medina-Martinez remains in the Dakota County Jail in Hastings on a $60,000 bond. He is also being held for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for possible deportation.