On March 26, 2026, Richfield Police Officers responded to the Lyndale Garden Apartments located at [address omitted] South, Richfield, Hennepin County, on report of drug sales occurring at the apartment. The reporting party stated that a Ring camera captured suspected hand-to-hand transactions on January 28, 2026, and January 31, 2026. In each incident, a male, later identified as ROBERT LEE BURNS, Defendant herein, was seen receiving payment and handing a buyer suspected narcotics. The Defendant was associated with apartment 109. Officers learned that the Defendant had a prior 3rd degree drug possession conviction in case file 27-CR- 12-29610. The reporting party then advised that a third hand-to-hand transaction appeared to occur on April 7, 2026. Officers then conducted a K9 sniff outside of apartment 109 for the odor of controlled substances.
The K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics after she sniffed the airspace immediately outside the lower door seem of apartment 109. The Defendant's DVS photo matched the Defendant in all three of the Ring Camera incidents. On April 9, 2026, Officers executed a search warrant of apartment 109 where they located the following: In the bedroom - $946 in the Defendant's wallet on the nightstand, a digital scale on the nightstand, mailings for the Defendant, and a backpack with four individually packaged baggies of Marijuana around 3 grams each.
In the bedroom closet - a blue lunch bag with a razor blade with FTP cocaine residue on it, numerous Ziplock bags, odor free storage bags, latex gloves, a small plate with FTP cocaine residue, and a plastic container of 29.42 grams of Marijuana. Officers also located a mason jar with 11.09 grams of Marijuana, and a glass measuring cup with FTP cocaine residue. In a jean jacket in the bedroom closet - a small notebook that appeared to be a ledger, a Ziplock bag containing 0.32 grams, 0.33 grams, 0.33 grams, 0.33 grams, 0.34 grams, 1.33 grams, and 1.42 grams of FTP cocaine, and three separate bags of FTP cocaine weighing 9.90 grams, 6.53 grams, and 1.42 grams.
In total, Officers recovered 22.25 grams of FTP cocaine. In a post-Miranda warning, the Defendant stated it was him in the Ring door video, he did not know a camera was there, the cocaine and marijuana belongs to him, he sells "here and there"; individuals contact him to buy narcotics and they know him as "Rob," he sells where ever he is and meets up individuals or they come to his house, and some of the cash in his wallet is from selling narcotics. The Defendant is out of custody.
