On or about August 31, 2025 police officers were dispatched to [ADDRESS REDACTED], Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota on reports of a single vehicle crash. The call indicated a car had collided with a tree and had 3 occupants. Upon arrival officers identified the driver of the vehicle, who was still sitting in the driver's seat as CHARLES EDWARD CARDENAS II [DOB REDACTED] (Defendant). Defendant told officers his foot slipped and got stuck under the brake pedal, causing the vehicle to jump the curb and crash into the tree.
While speaking with Defendant, officers noticed his eyes were bloodshot, watery and pinpoint, and that his speech was slurred. Officers observed the front seat passenger to have an abrasion on his arm, and the rear passenger was being treated by paramedics as she had an egg shaped bulge on her head and was bleeding profusely from her head. The rear passenger indicated she hit her head somewhere inside the vehicle during the crash. Once all the occupants were out of the vehicle officers continued to speak with Defendant and other officers conducted an inventory search prior to towing the vehicle.
During that search officers located a purple bag between the driver's side door and center console, which contained 18.16 grams of methamphetamine, as tested by the BCA. Officers who were speaking with Defendant asked if consumed any alcohol or drugs that day which Defendant denied, officers asked if there were any drugs in the vehicle at which time Defendant informed officers there were and where to locate them. This was the same spot where officers had previously located the methamphetamine. Based on the totality of circumstances officers preformed field sobriety testing, and Defendant displaced 4 of the 6 indicators of impairment during the HGN test.
Officers executed a search warrant for Defendant's blood, which BCA testing shows to contain methamphetamine.
