On July 10, 2025 at approximately 9:08 P.M., officers with the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office and the Hastings Police Department responded to a call from a department store in the City of Hastings, the County of Dakota, the State of Minnesota on the report of a female slumped over in a car that was breathing but unresponsive. The deputy arrived first and located two employees flagging him down. The female employee reported that she was leaving work and parked near the suspect vehicle and observed a person passed out in the car.
She went and got a manager and they tried to wake up the occupant but she was not responding. The deputy approached the vehicle and observed the driver’s window was down and a female was in the vehicle, slumped over with shallow breathing. The female was also observed to be sweating profusely. The deputy knocked on the window and announced he was police, but she did not respond, so he tapped on her head and she woke up and looked at the deputy in a confused manner. The deputy advised the female to turn her car off.
Based on her behavior and that it was not a particularly hot evening, the deputy requested paramedics respond to the scene. The female was identified as GABRIELLA JEAN ENGGREN [DOB REDACTED], herein the Defendant. She advised she had been in court earlier that day for a DWI. The deputy observed a small piece of tinfoil with a black and brown burnt residue between her legs on the seat, along with a small eye glass case that appeared to have metal straws. Based on training and experience, the deputy believed this to be indicative of controlled substance use.
The Defendant said she had not used any substances. The deputy asked the Defendant to hand him the tinfoil and she began to tear up and said she had relapsed. The deputy asked the Defendant to hand him the glasses case and she said it was just straws. As she handed it to him, she dropped it and when she picked it up the deputy could see a small baggie with a white pill in it. The Defendant became more upset and the deputy saw a small square baggie. The Defendant handed the deputy the baggie which had a white powder in it.
The Defendant said the powder was cocaine. The Defendant began apologizing for relapsing. The suspected controlled substances were collected by an officer with the Hastings Police Department and the Defendant was placed in the ambulance that had arrived on scene to be checked out. The Defendant voluntarily went with medics to the hospital. The substance was transported to the Dakota 2 19HA-CR-25-2135 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 12/16/2025 County Drug Task Force for preliminary NIK testing.
The substance weighed 0.28 grams and tested positive for the presence of cocaine.
