On March 3, 2026, at approximately 3:00 A.M., an officer with the Inver Grove Heights Police Department saw a motor vehicle parked in the parking lot of a hotel located in Inver Grove Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota. The officer saw two people inside the vehicle – one in the driver’s seat and one in the front passenger seat. While driving near the vehicle, the officer saw the occupants slouch down. The officer drove around the parking lot to the vehicle a second time. The officer saw the vehicle driving through the parking lot towards Blaine Avenue.
The officer noticed a suspended object hanging from the vehicle’s rear-view mirror. The officer saw the vehicle drive on Blaine Avenue, onto Upper 55th Street, and then onto 50th Street. The officer knew that 50th Street was a dead-end road, so he waited to see if the vehicle returned towards Blaine Avenue. A few moments later, the officer saw the vehicle travel back onto Blaine Avenue. The officer followed the vehicle and stopped it at the intersection of Blackburn Lane and Bishop Avenue. The officer approached the vehicle and spoke with the female driver and male passenger.
The male passenger was later identified as JACOB SCOTT BLESKAN ([DOB redacted]). While speaking with the occupants and collecting identification, the officer saw an uncapped needle on the passenger floorboard. The officer also saw metal foil on the rear floorboard. Finally, the officer noticed that the driver showed indicators of prior drug-use. After running routine checks in his squad vehicle, the officer reapproached the vehicle and asked the driver to exit. The driver complied. The officer then spoke to the driver about their travel plans and drug-related questions.
After speaking with the driver, the officer reapproached the vehicle to speak with BLESKAN. The officer asked the passenger about their travel plans and drug-related questions. Specifically, the officer asked BLESKAN if there were any drugs inside the motor vehicle. BLESKAN replied in the negative. The officer asked BLESKAN to exit. BLESKAN complied. 2 19HA-CR-26-811 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 6/9/2026 The officer asked the driver and BLESKAN if there were any drugs inside the vehicle.
The driver replied in the negative. The officer asked the driver for consent to search the vehicle. The driver denied consent. The officer conducted a dog-sniff of the motor vehicle with his K9 officer, who is trained in drug- detection. The K9 officer alerted to the presence of controlled substances during the dog sniff. The officer searched the vehicle. During the search, the officer located a bag in the back seat area, directly behind the driver’s seat. The bag contained drug-paraphernalia. Next, the officer located pieces of metal foil under the front passenger seat.
