At approximately 12:35 P.M. On December 09, 2025, Minnesota State Patrol Sergeant Steven Quern saw a dark green 2023 Kia Sorento bearing Minnesota license plate [PLATE REDACTED] (hereinafter “the vehicle”) stopped on the right shoulder at an angle, with its driver’s side window open. Sgt. Quern did not see any occupants in the vehicle, but he did see a person walking against traffic in the left lane near the median. The temperature was in the mid-20s, snow was falling, and slush was accumulating.
Sgt. Quern turned around to check on the person. The person approached the right lane as a semitruck, which was going highway speeds, had to slightly veer to avoid hitting the person. Sgt. Quern made contact with the person, later identified as Mohamed Omar Hussein [DOB REDACTED] (hereinafter “the defendant”). The defendant admitted the vehicle was his. Sgt. Quern offered the defendant a ride back to the vehicle, and the defendant responded by saying “yep.” Sgt. Quern noticed a strong odor of alcohol on the defendant’s breath.
The defendant’s eyes were bloodshot. There was a green leafy and crusty substance on the defendant’s lips and mouth. The defendant denied consuming alcohol. The defendant admitted to driving the vehicle alone. When Sgt. Quern looked inside the vehicle, he saw an open bottle of Guiness beer in the center console. The defendant performed standard field sobriety tests, and Sgt. Quern observed clues of impairment. The defendant provided a very soft breath sample for a preliminary breath test, with a 0.16 result.
When asked about his drinking again, the defendant indicated he had two beers with his last drink being about half an hour ago. The defendant was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired. During an inventory search of the vehicle, law enforcement located a clear plastic baggie containing a green leafy substance that appeared to be dried Khat and did not appear to be marijuana. The defendant acknowledged the green leafy substance was Khat, but he claimed it was not his. However, the defendant claimed that cash located in close proximity to the green leafy substance was his.
Khat typically has two active ingredients: cathine (a Schedule IV controlled substance) and cathinone (a schedule I controlled substance). The Khat weighed 76 grams. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for a sample of the defendant’s blood or urine. The defendant was advised that refusal to submit to a blood or urine test is a crime. The defendant agreed to provide a blood sample. A blood sample was drawn from his arm at 1:56 P.M. Lab results for the blood test and the green leafy substance are pending.
The defendant was transported to the Wright County Jail. He began claiming that he was not the driver, and that the Khat belonged to someone else even though it was found in his vehicle. The defendant took another preliminary breath test at the jail, with a result of 0.17. MGA shows the defendant was convicted of gross misdemeanor driving while impaired on July 28, 2023 in Stearns County District Court File No. ••-CR-••-••••, and of misdemeanor driving while impaired on December 12, 2019 in Stearns County District Court File No. ••-CR-••-••••.
