On May 12, 2025, at 9:06 PM Officer Cree of the Blaine Police Department was on patrol and conducted a license plate check on a blue Chevy Malibu (MN/JWP674) that was traveling southbound on Central Avenue NE at 105th Ave NE in Blaine, Anoka County. Cree found the license plate tabs were expired in April 2025 and the registered owner's driver's license was revoked. Cree stopped the vehicle and approached the passenger side and observed a female driver and a male passenger. Cree could smell an odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.
The driver, later verbally identified as Natalie Faye Swanson [DOB REDACTED], the defendant herein, told Cree she was borrowing the vehicle from a friend and did not have her driver's license with her. When asked about insurance for the vehicle, she provided Officer Cree with a blurry picture of what appeared to be an insurance card that was illegible except for the word "Sienna". Officer Cree checked the defendant's driving status and learned her driver's license was revoked for no proof of insurance.
Officer Cree returned to the vehicle and observed a small blue zippered bag on the floor behind the driver's seat that was not there originally. Cree asked how much marijuana was in the vehicle and the passenger, later identified as D. J. L. [DOB REDACTED], pointed to a "bud" of suspected marijuana that was on the center console. Both occupants were asked to step out of the car. Officer Cree removed the marijuana bud and began searching the passenger side of the vehicle. Located on the floor mat was a folded piece of tinfoil on the that contained a white powder that was later tested at the forensic laboratory and was positive for a trace amount of fentanyl.
Cree opened the blue zipper bag located between the driver seat and the center console in the back seat. Inside Cree found pieces of tin foil that held a white powder that based on training and experience appeared to be fentanyl, two glass methamphetamine pipes and multiple straws with white powder residue. The defendant's purse was located inside the vehicle and was found to contain a leather pouch with a small baggie containing a crystal substance that was later tested at the forensic laboratory and was positive for methamphetamine and weighed 0.391 grams.
Both the defendant and D. J. L. Were arrested and during a post-Miranda statement, D. J. L. Stated he had smoked fentanyl and that the defendant had stopped and bought about a gram or so. While speaking with the defendant after her Miranda warning, the defendant admitted to having "used" earlier but refused to answer what she used or where she got it. The substances from the tinfoil located in the blue zippered bag were tested at the forensic laboratory and were positive for fentanyl and weighed 0.613 grams.
