Apr. 15—GRAND FORKS — After a judge’s recent ruling that evidence was illegally obtained during a traffic stop, a Grand Forks County methamphetamine case against a Viking, Minnesota, man has been dismissed.
Jeremy Aaron Tostrup, 28, was charged in February 2024 with
Class A felony possession
of at least 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.
The charge arose from a traffic stop that occurred in the early morning hours of Feb. 25, 2024, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case.
Tostrup’s attorney, Jessica Ahrendt, filed a motion to suppress evidence and dismiss the case in October. A motion hearing was held last month and, ultimately, Judge Jason McCarthy granted the motion to suppress.
His order granting the motion, filed on April 2, explains that Tostrup was asked to wait for a K9 to arrive, extending the traffic stop by nearly 30 minutes after he had already received a written warning for the various traffic infractions law enforcement pulled him over for.
McCarthy explained that this is an unreasonable amount of time to detain someone and, further, there needs to be reasonable suspicion to extend the stop to await a K9’s arrival.
The prosecution argued there was reasonable suspicion, including differing stories between Tostrup and his passenger about their travel plans, and the fact that they were traveling from Fargo. Law enforcement said drugs are being transported to the Grand Forks area from Fargo, according to the order.
McCarthy said that just traveling from Fargo is not a sufficient reason to extend the stop, and neither are the inconsistent stories, because though they were not identical, they were very similar and included the same key facts such as where the two men were going and where they had come from.
Because the evidence obtained as a result of the extension of the traffic stop was found to be obtained in violation of Tostrup’s Fourth Amendment right to no unreasonable search and seizure by the government, it was ordered to be suppressed.
That evidence includes the approximate 112.5 grams of methamphetamine law enforcement alleged they found in the vehicle Tostrup was driving, and the fact that he said he buys the drug in Fargo and sells it, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case.
Without the ability to use this information, the case was dismissed Monday, April 14, Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Misialek told the Herald.