A 30-year-old Rochester man was caught with fentanyl and methamphetamine after detectives watched him conduct a suspected hand-to-hand drug deal and then pulled him over minutes later.
Cody Allen Ambrose faces two felony charges in Olmsted County: first-degree drug possession involving 25 or more grams of heroin and second-degree drug possession involving 25 or more grams of methamphetamine. The top charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
READ MORE > Olmsted County coverage
According to the criminal complaint, Rochester police detectives were driving in an unmarked squad near the intersection of 16th Street Northeast and Broadway Avenue North around 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, when they spotted Ambrose behind the wheel. They knew his license was canceled as inimical to public safety from prior contacts.
As they followed and called for marked units, they observed Ambrose pull into an alleyway in the 200 block of 16th Street Northeast and engage in a suspected hand-to-hand drug transaction with an unknown person. He then drove to a parking lot in the 2800 block of Broadway Avenue North, where marked squads conducted the traffic stop.
As the stop was initiated, a detective at the front of the vehicle observed Ambrose quickly hand the passenger a large Ziploc bag. The passenger was then seen trying to hide it behind her back. Both were removed from the vehicle and Ambrose was placed under arrest.
> Sign up for the MN CRIME newsletter
A search of the vehicle turned up the bag of suspected fentanyl on the floorboard, weighing 64.9 grams with packaging, along with a bag containing a large crystal rock of suspected methamphetamine weighing 36.4 grams. Both substances field-tested positive.
Ambrose was already facing charges of first-degree damage to property and fifth-degree drug possession in a separate case from March 10. In that incident, detectives attempted to execute a search warrant at a residence on the 200 block of Elton Hills Drive Northwest and located Ambrose driving nearby.
A detective pulled alongside him and displayed his badge, but Ambrose drove away, striking two detective vehicles and an apartment building before his car stopped moving, court records say. Detectives drew their firearms and ordered him out, but he refused to comply and was observed swallowing something.
Officers had to physically remove Ambrose from the vehicle. He told detectives he had swallowed "candy." The damage to the two squad cars and the apartment was estimated at over $1,000. A search of his residence turned up a Buprenorphine pill and 0.3 grams of methamphetamine.
Ambrose has a prior fifth-degree drug conviction from 2023. On the latest charges, his next court appearance is set for April 1, 2026.
