Brainerd Woman Charged After K9 Sniff Leads to Meth Seizure
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A Brainerd woman is charged after investigators say she possessed meth during a traffic stop tied to a drug investigation in Crow Wing County.
The case developed late Jan. 29 into early Jan. 30 after officers received information that a vehicle transporting roughly one-half pound of methamphetamine was expected to travel through the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Reservation.
Prosecutors charged 35-year-old Britney Marie Hagerty with first-degree drug possession. According to a criminal complaint, Mille Lacs Tribal Police received information from the Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division that investigators had developed reliable information about a vehicle transporting a large amount of methamphetamine.
Officers located the vehicle leaving Grand Casino Mille Lacs around 11:42 p.m. and maintained visual contact as it traveled until it was stopped in Crosby by a Crow Wing County deputy.
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Investigators identified Hagerty as the driver and after speaking with both occupants, a narcotics K9 was called to the scene. A Baxter police officer deployed his K9 partner, Timber, who alerted to the odor of controlled substances inside the vehicle.
During a search, officers found suspected controlled substances inside a purse the passenger identified as hers, including 0.6 grams of cocaine, 1.2 grams of suspected methamphetamine, 0.8 grams of suspected methamphetamine, one pill suspected to be oxycodone and three pills suspected to be lorazepam.
Investigators also found a brown snake-print bag behind the driver’s seat. Inside that bag, deputies located a pink snake-print bag that contained a scale with residue and an insect trap holding multiple bags of suspected methamphetamine. Officers reported the suspected methamphetamine weighed 2.6 grams, 11.3 grams, 56.1 grams and 112.1 grams. Authorities said those substances field tested positive for methamphetamine.
READ MORE > Crow Wing County coverage
According to the complaint, Hagerty told investigators the vehicle belonged to her and identified the brown snake-print bag as hers, saying it contained perfume, makeup and a pink and white zebra-patterned bag. She denied the pink snake-print bag belonged to her.
Combined, the suspected methamphetamine found in the snake-print bags weighed about 182.1 grams, or about 6.4 ounces, which exceeds the threshold required for a first-degree possession charge.
Court records show Hagerty has prior traffic-related convictions, including a 2025 conviction for driving after suspension in Crow Wing County and two 2021 convictions for driving after revocation. Records also show Hagerty was convicted of third-degree driving while impaired in 2018 and fourth-degree driving while impaired in 2015.
If convicted, Hagerty faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000 for a first controlled substance conviction. Her next court appearance on the new charge is set for May 14.
