In early 2023, a Detective from the Elk River Police Department was assigned to the Sherburne County Drug Task Force. The Detective was advised by another Drug Task Force that a Cooperating Defendant (CD) provided them with information relating to ongoing large-scale methamphetamine trafficking in Princeton, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota. CD informed the Task Force that within the past 14 days, CD purchased a large quantity of methamphetamine from “DJ,” and provided the task force with “DJ’s” phone number.
CD stated that he purchased the methamphetamine from “DJ” in an apartment in Princeton, where “DJ” and his wife reside. CD stated that “DJ” gets approximately two to three pounds of methamphetamine from “Mexicans” in the Coon Rapids area and is utilizing a grey Ford F-150 pickup truck to traffic said narcotics. The Detective conducted an open-source search of the phone number CD provided, which identified the owner of the number as DURANGO JAY NUNEZ [DOB REDACTED]. The Detective conducted a DVS search on NUNEZ and it listed an address on 1st Street in Princeton.
The Detective obtained a DVS photograph of NUNEZ and provided it to the other Drug Task Force. The other Drug Task Force provided the photo to CD, and CD confirmed NUNEZ was the individual he purchased methamphetamine from. The Detective also learned that NUNEZ was the registered owner of a silver Ford F-150. On April 25, 2023, the Detective responded to the apartment and noted two vehicles parked in the middle of a parking lot used by the apartment and other business in the area. One was the Ford F-150, and another was a blue Chevrolet sedan, registered to CHERYL ANN ARMSTRONG [DOB REDACTED]. The Deputy learned that NUNEZ and ARMSTRONG were married, and shared the apartment, which is located in Mille Lacs County.
On April 26, 2023, the Detective utilized an ION swab on the driver’s door handles of both the F-150 and the blue sedan. The results were negative for narcotics on the blue sedan, and positive for methamphetamine on the F-150. The Detective conducted a criminal history check on both NUNEZ and ARMSTRONG. ARMSTRONG had no significant criminal history outside of minor [NAME REDACTED]. The Detective learned that NUNEZ had numerous felony convictions, including for Controlled Substance Crime in the First Degree – Sale, in 2018. On April 27, 2023, the Detective applied for and was granted an electronic GPS tracker warrant for NUNEZ’s truck.
After applying the tracking device, the Detective conducted a phone toll request for NUNEZ’s phone number. The Detective noted that the third most frequently contacted number on the phone was Male-1, an adult male fully identified in police reports. The Detective was familiar with Male-1 from a previous narcotics investigation in Elk River, Minnesota, and recalled that Male-1 was delivering between one and two pounds of methamphetamine to another individual. Male-1 resides in Coon Rapids, 2 ••-CR-••-•••• Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 5/22/2026 Minnesota.
