A Minneapolis man is charged with possessing suspected methamphetamine after a deputy reported finding a bag weighing about 87 grams with packaging in a backpack during an Isanti County traffic stop for inoperable license plate lights, according to a complaint.
He is charged with one felony count of first-degree drug possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one misdemeanor count of driving after revocation. The complaint lists the felony maximum as 30 years or a $1 million fine or both. For a subsequent conviction, it lists four to 40 years. The misdemeanor maximum is listed as 90 days or a $1,000 fine or both.
Jason William Tillmans, 53, is charged according to a complaint filed Nov. 5 in Isanti County District Court. The complaint does not list a bail amount. The judge issued an order of detention, which says he was already in custody.
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According to the complaint, a deputy patrolling northbound on Highway 65 at about 12:19 a.m. Nov. 4 saw a blue Mazda with inoperable license plate lights and stopped it near Highway 65 and 301st Avenue NE. The complaint says Tillmans was the driver and was searching a black backpack for identification but could not find it. He gave proof of insurance for the vehicle.
The driver said he and his passenger were traveling from the Twin Cities to Cambridge to visit a friend. The complaint says that when asked why they were traveling so late he stuttered and did not answer. Neither occupant could name the person they planned to visit. The complaint says both described the person as a friend of a friend. The driver said he planned to go to a casino in Hinckley afterward.
A records check showed the passenger had multiple outstanding warrants and the driver’s license was revoked, the complaint says. The passenger was arrested. While getting the passenger’s cell phone from a bag with the driver’s consent, the deputy saw a glass pipe with white crystal-like residue that he said appeared to be methamphetamine residue.
The deputy called a K-9 unit. The handler said the dog alerted on the vehicle. In a search the deputy found the same black backpack. It held a black hard-case container with a bag of white crystal-like substance, a spoon and cash, the complaint says.
The driver was then arrested. The deputy found a yellow hard-case container with two plastic baggies of white crystal-like substance along with pipes, a scale and multiple empty plastic baggies. The substance field tested positive for methamphetamine, the complaint says.
At the sheriff’s office the bag from the backpack weighed about 87 grams including packaging. The two baggies from the yellow container weighed about 2.9 grams and 1.8 grams, also including packaging, the complaint says.
