On April 24, 2026, at 7:06 P.M., South Saint Paul police officers responded to a report of an intoxicated individual, the defendant herein, Laron Lamar Brant, harassing another individual in the City of South Saint Paul, Dakota County, Minnesota. When the officers arrived, the defendant attempted to drive his motor vehicle away but was boxed in by the officers with their patrol cars. The officers activated their patrol car’s emergency lights, and the defendant stopped moving his vehicle. The defendant was asked to turn his vehicle’s engine off and exit his vehicle and he complied.
The officer noticed that the defendant’s speech was slurred when he spoke, he needed to lean against his vehicle for balance, his eyes were bloodshot and watery, and there was the odor of a consumed alcoholic beverage on his breath and also inside the vehicle. The officer observed many open beer cans on the front passenger seat. The defendant admitted consuming between 2 and 4 beers prior to contact with the officer. The officer also noticed a white powdery substance on the defendant’s hands. The officer asked the defendant to perform some field sobriety tests.
The defendant refused to perform field sobriety testing and was placed under arrest. In a wallet found on the front passenger seat was the defendant’s driver’s license and other documents in his name. Behind the defendant’s driver’s license was a plastic bag containing a white powdery substance the officer believed was a controlled substance. The white powdery substance was later preliminarily tested, and the test indicated the presence of cocaine, and it weighed.31 grams. Inside of a folded-up dollar bill inside the billfold was a white powdery substance.
The white powdery substance was preliminarily tested, and the test indicated the presence of cocaine, and it weighed.08 grams. The combined net weight of the cocaine is.39 grams. The defendant was transported to the South Saint Paul Police Department and read the Minnesota Implied Consent Advisory and agreed to take a breath test. The defendant, however, failed to provide adequate breath samples for testing, so he was determined to have refused test. The defendant was convicted of refusal to submit to testing January 1, 2023.
