The vehicle matched the description of a vehicle that had been reported to be traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes shortly before. Officer Mello initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the three vehicle occupants. The registered owner of the vehicle was a passenger in the back seat, identified as BRITTANI JEAN SKILLINGS [DOB REDACTED], defendant herein. While speaking with the occupants the officer observed that the defendant and the front seat passenger appeared to be nervous, very fidgety and overly talkative as they spoke over each other.
When asked about their travels the occupants gave information that was contradictory to the direction they were headed and where they were coming from. They also seemed to be confused and provided contradictory answers as to who they had been visiting and how they knew them. None of the accounts being offered by the occupants made sense. The officer asked the defendant for consent to search the vehicle and the defendant agreed. During the vehicle search the defendant approached the vehicle to retrieve some clothing, at which time the officer observed a purse the defendant had in her possession that she was concealing under her jacket.
The officer asked to check the purse and the defendant began to dig through the purse and offered a view inside but used her hand to hide what appeared to be a large shiny object. The officer was concerned about a possible weapon being in the purse and told the defendant to put the purse on the trunk of the car. The officer observed that the purse contained a bag of white crystal substance believed to be methamphetamine. The white substance field tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine and weighed 0.3 grams with packaging.
The search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of lighters and baggies consistent with controlled substance use. The substance was sent to the laboratory for analysis and the resulting report confirmed the substance contained methamphetamine and weighed 0.311 grams +/‐ 0.005 grams. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: Pursuant to Minn. Stat. 609.49, intentional failure to appear for duly scheduled court appearances may result in additional criminal charges, and in addition to any arrest warrant that may otherwise be issued by the Court.
