MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A Minneapolis woman is accused of taking meth and then wandering with her 5-year-old daughter in 19-degree weather.

Leah Marie Lewis, 29, was charged with gross misdemeanor child neglect after her daughter was found wearing mittens on her feet for shoes on Feb. 21. The girl told police she had only slept for “seven minutes” the night before.

Police found Lewis inside a Hampton, Minnesota, fire station, where she had come to warm up.

Lewis had walked around outside with the girl, looking for a hotel, for “an unknown time,” according to the criminal complaint. Police said she was confused about the number and gender of children she had.

“She was very animated, was walking in circles and insisted the child with her was her son,” the criminal complaint reads.

If convicted, Lewis faces up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a 26-year-old Wisconsin man has pleaded guilty to his role in a north Iowa drug conspiracy.

A U.S. attorney’s office announced Wednesday that Ryan Michael Schroeder of La Crosse, Wisconsin, has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

He was accused of conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of meth from January 2012 to December 2014.

Prosecutors say he sold meth in Hampton and Mason City, as well as people in Minnesota.

He’s being held by the U.S. Marshal’s Service pending sentencing. He could face up to life in prison and a $10 million fine. The minimum sentence is 10 years.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — The state Court of Appeals has thrown out the conviction of a southern Minnesota man, saying the amount of meth-tainted water found in his bong was far under the threshold required for his imprisonment.

Ryan M. Drown, 32, of Waseca was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison in 2013 for having the tainted water in a bong that amounted to less than half an ounce. He had been convicted for second- and third-degree drug possession in Blue Earth County District Court.

But a 2011 amendment to a law required at least four ounces of water for such a serious conviction. Based on the amount of meth found in the bong, fifth-degree drug possession would have been the highest possible charge, and it wouldn’t have carried a prison sentence.

Drown was in prison for seven months and was granted release in July 2014 pending an appeal. The court ruling in his favor came last week.

Prosecutor Chris Rovney said trial lawyers and the judge made a mistake and they “all just dropped the ball on that.”

“I’m certainly not proud of it,” Rovney said. “We feel bad about it. We certainly don’t charge people to mess them up.”

He told The Free Press that attorneys looked at what they thought was a current version of the law, but that it must’ve been outdated.

State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, was the chief sponsor of the bong water legislation. She said it’s surprising the change in the law wasn’t caught in Drown’s trial, given the attention that was given to it at the time it was passed. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty talked about bong water in an appearance on “The Daily Show” in 2010.

“It’s truly unfortunate that nobody caught this,” Kahn said in a news release. “Seven months of somebody’s life was taken from them because everyone missed this change in law.”

Drown said he had mixed feelings because he “wasn’t truly guilty in the first place.” There was no accountability, he said, and he’s “going to push this as far as I can.”

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two men are under arrest after leading police on a chase that closed down I-494 for more than an hour.

The chase ended on 494, between Rockford Road and Bass Lake Road, when the SUV hit three other vehicles and rolled over.

Police said the men were suspected of breaking into a home in Rogers.

They took off in the SUV when police tried to pull them over.

Emergency workers had to cut the driver out of the vehicle after the crash.

Police said he’s suspected to have taken a large amount of meth, and he was throwing it out of the SUV during the chase.

The passenger was arrested when he tried to run away.

(credit: CBS)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Dresser, Minnesota, man has been charged after leading police on a chase that closed down I-494 for more than an hour Thursday evening.

Bradley Olsen, 24, is charged in Hennepin County with fleeing police in a motor vehicle. He is recovering from his injuries.

Olsen was suspected of breaking into a home in Rogers, according to the criminal complaint.

He took off in a white SUV when police tried to pull him over.

The chase reached speeds of 120 miles per hour and scattered debris over the freeway.

Olsen’s SUV struck two other vehicles and rolled over four times. A passenger tried to run away and was arrested Thursday, but the county attorney’s office said on Friday that he was not charged with any crime.

Emergency workers had to cut the driver Olsen out of the vehicle after the crash.

Police said Thursday that he’s suspected to have taken a large amount of meth, and he was throwing it out of the SUV during the chase.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — There’s disappointing news concerning the Twin Cities efforts to reduce illegal drug use, especially the battle against methamphetamine.

A report released by Drug Abuse Dialogues shows that meth use is as high as it’s ever been in the Twin Cities metro.

In 2005 Minnesota passed strict laws limiting access to the ingredients needed to manufacture methamphetamine.

It was effective, as meth labs, arrests and overdoses plummeted. Unfortunately, the progress to curb illicit drug use didn’t last.

“Since 2009 it’s been creeping up again and now the supply is from Mexico,” the study’s author, Carol Falkowski, said.

Falkowski has been tracking the metro’s drug trends since 1986 with Drug Abuse Dialogues.

The most recent report is alarming, as 2014 saw a record number of Twin Cities meth users getting treatment.

However, it’s not the only concern that the study discovered. There is what Falkowski calls a “dueling epidemic” taking place between heroin and pain killers.

“If you combine heroin and prescription pain killers about one-quarter of the people in treatment in the Twin Cities are there for opiates,” Falkowski said.

Part of the current problem can be attributed to the strength of the drugs. Washington County Attorney Pete Orput says meth smuggled in from Mexico is up to five times as pure as what was being produced in remote labs across the state.

“Now we’re at 80 percent pure,” Orput said. “It’s highly addictive and it’s causing havoc again.”

Orput can see it simply by looking at the overdose deaths. In his county alone on average 15 deaths a year can be attributed to meth, heroin and opiate overdoses. But what it doesn’t show is the high number of close calls.

“Three-hundred-plus trips to the emergency room to save these people. I call that an epidemic,” Orput said.

One that can and must be turned around again. According to those closest to the problem it must begin with aware parents having tough talk with their children.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — An Anoka man who climbed atop a north Minneapolis home after fleeing law enforcement was charged Friday with multiple crimes.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s office says Richard Dean Podvin, 37, is charged with two counts of fifth-degree drug possession, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of a prohibited person in possession of a gun and one count of fleeing police in a motor vehicle.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office’s Violent Offender Task Force and U.S. Marshals were searching for Podvin Wednesday, who had been convicted of third-degree assault.

He was spotted in a car on Humboldt Avenue North. Podvin drove off, and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase. Podvin hit a Hennepin County Sheriff’s squad car head-on, and then fled on foot.

He forced his way into a home with a family inside and climbed to the roof, where he stayed for three hours until officers talked him down and arrested him.

Police found a gun, pills and a small amount of meth on Podvin.

The date of his first court appearance has not been released.

(credit: CBS)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two young children have been placed in foster care after police say an Elgin man was found earlier this week passed out in a hotel room while one of his kids wandered the lobby alone.

Michael John Alexander, 39, faces gross misdemeanor charges for child neglect and endangerment, as well as a felony drug charge for possessing meth, documents filed in Dakota County say.

According to a criminal complaint, an Eagan police officer was patrolling around 2 a.m. Monday when an employee at the Extended Stay Hotel flagged him down. The employee showed the officer surveillance video of a girl, who looked to be about 4 years old, crawling over the hotel’s front desk.

Hotel staff picked up the girl, whose diaper was full to the point of leaking, and tried to find her parents.

After talking with other guests, it was determined which room the girl’s father was staying in. At first, hotel staff tried to call the registered phone number, but no one answered. Then they tried to knock on the door. Still, there was no answer. Finally, hotel staff opened the door and went into the room.

Inside, hotel staff found a 1-year-old child sleeping on the floor and a man, identified later as Alexander, sleeping in the bed. When hotel staff were finally able to wake him, Alexander appeared to be on drugs.

That’s when the police officer was called into the room, and he, too, thought Alexander was high.

In a search of the room, the officer found pipes and what appeared to be plastic bags in the garbage. When the officer asked Alexander whom the drug paraphernalia belonged to, Alexander said, “Just arrest me,” the complaint states.

Alexander had about $2,500 in cash on him when he was arrested, and the substance found in the plastic bags later tested positive for meth.

If convicted of all charges, Alexander faces a maximum sentence of 7 years behind bars and/or a $16,000 fine.

The two children, both of which had extremely full diapers when authorities found them, were placed in foster care.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Federal authorities have charged a man accused of dealing methamphetamine in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Arnulfo Ramos pleaded not guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. A trial date has not been set.

Authorities say Ramos and others distributed large quantities of meth during an 18-month period beginning in January 2014.

Court documents do not list an attorney for Ramos.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for transporting methamphetamine to a distributor in North Dakota.

A federal jury in March found Tyson Trotter guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Authorities say Trotter dealt more than 500 grams of meth.

Trotter was arrested in November 2014 after authorities observed him meeting with a man from Grand Forks in the parking lot of a business in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Authorities say a search of Trotter’s vehicle yielded more than $16,000 in cash. The man accused of buying the drugs was later found to have a pound of meth in his vehicle.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson ordered Trotter to serve 10 years of supervised release when his prison term is completed.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A 32-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to dealing large quantities of methamphetamine in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Kelli Caron is charged in federal court with conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance. Authorities say the ring involved at least 500 grams of meth.

Caron faces life in prison because of previous drug convictions in Minnesota in 2010 and South Dakota in 2007. She is currently serving a separate state sentence at a prison in Shakopee, Minnesota.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29 in Fargo.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 35-year-old man was arrested Thursday after fleeing police in Meeker County.

Brian Berwald, of Hutchinson, faces charges of driving after cancellation of license and fleeing a peace officer.

According to the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office, early Thursday evening deputies with the drug and gang task force were conducting surveillance for Amanda Rhode in the 100 block of Park Village in Litchfield.

Rhode, 29, had an outstanding warrant for controlled substance. Police had reason to believe she was hiding out in a home along Park Village.

Shortly after 6 p.m. officers saw a car leave the home they were watching.

They followed the car and attempted a routine traffic stop, but the driver, later identified as Berwald, fled.

According to the sheriff’s office, Berwald attempted to avert officers by driving into a cornfield located just west of the County State-Aid Highway 1 and County State-Aid Highway 23 intersection.

Police caught up to Berwald in the cornfield and apprehended him.

According to the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office, police returned to the home on Park Village and located Rhode. She was arrested on her outstanding warrant.

Officers said police searched the home and found methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Police then also arrested the resident of the home, 50-year-old Patrick Lanigan, for possession of meth.

Berwald, Lanigan and Rhode are currently in the Meeker County Jail awaiting formal charges.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A man accused of dealing methamphetamine in North Dakota and Minnesota has been sentenced to three months in prison.

Brian Noyes is charged in federal court with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He pleaded guilty in June.

Authorities say the 39-year-old Noyes was part of a ring that began in January 2013.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a minimum mandatory term of five years, but Noyes was given credit for accepting responsibility and giving a timely guilty plea.

Defense attorney Alexander Reichert says his client has been clean and sober for 17 months and has an outstanding support system.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — An Alexandria woman is accused of smuggling methamphetamine into a Faribault jail, leading to the overdose death of an inmate.

Faribault police say an inmate at Minnesota Correctional Facility Faribault was found dead in their cell on Sept. 5. An autopsy found that they had died from a meth overdose.

Investigators discovered the inmate had ingested the meth via gelatin capsules, which police say had been smuggled in by Melissa Rae Guillette.

Police executed a search warrant at Guillette’s Alexandria property two days later, where they found large amounts of meth and gelatin capsules.

Guillette was arrested without incident Monday, and she is expected to face a third-degree murder charge, as well as a charge of introducing contraband into a prison.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 51-year-old Wisconsin man was booked into jail last week for disorderly conduct and drug possession after witnesses told police he was acting erratically in a gas station bathroom.

Michael Semingson, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is accused of possessing meth and drug paraphernalia last Friday in the bathroom at Osceola Stop.

Police said they were called to the gas station shortly after 2:30 p.m. on a report that a man had exposed himself to the clerk and refused to leave.

When an officer arrived at the scene, he found a shirtless man outside who later identified himself as Semingson. He said he lost his shirt and was waiting for his friend to pick him up.

The officer then spoke with the clerk, who was visibly shaken and said she’d never felt more threatened in her life.

She said Semingson came in asking for directions, which he took down on a case of beer. He then went to the bathroom, and asked the clerk for some quarters.

When she refused to give him quarters in the bathroom, he got some at the counter. He then returned to the bathroom and emerged later with his pants down to buy some lotion.

With the lotion, he returned to the bathroom but kept peeking outside, the clerk told police.

In the bathroom, the officer said he found a rolled up shirt in a wad of paper towel. Inside was also a syringe filled with brown liquid.

The clerk said the shirt belonged to Semingson. Also found in the paper towel was a white substance in plastic bags, which tests later showed to be meth, police said.

Semingson was booked into jail, and is also accused of violating his probation.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for dealing large quantities of methamphetamine in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Dennis Lee Richardson pleaded guilty in March to a federal charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Authorities say the ring involved more than 500 grams of meth.

Richardson’s lawyer, Tatum Limbo, argued for a sentence of seven years. The government recommended 14 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson said during sentencing that Richardson’s history of substance abuse has led to his legal problems.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A Minnesota man says he will be plead guilty to a federal drug charge in North Dakota.

Arnulfo Ramos, of Crookston, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Authorities say the operation involved at least 500 grams of methamphetamine meant for distribution in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Court documents show that the drugs were obtained between Jan. 1, 2014, and April 15, 2015.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. A change of plea hearing has not been scheduled.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Human remains that were found near Alexandria in October have been confirmed to belong to the missing Starbuck woman Laura Schwendemann, and authorities say she died of an overdose of methamphetamine.

The Douglas County Attorney confirmed Tuesday she died of a drug overdose, and will charge 21-year-old Nickolas McArdell with concealing her body.

Schwendemann was last seen on Oct. 14 in a Kensington gas station’s surveillance video. Officials said she was with McArdell, a Starbuck resident, at the time.

McArdell initially told investigators he saw Schwendemann get into a car with men he had never seen before, but later admitted he lied. According to a press release from the Douglas County Attorney’s office, McArdell told investigators he and Schwendemann were injecting methamphetamine that evening. He told police he “blacked out,” and couldn’t remember where Schwendemann was or what happened to her that night.

After admitting drug use to investigators, McArdell was arrested for violating his probation for a previous domestic assault charge.

When he heard of the discovery of Schwendemann’s body, McArdell requested to speak to investigators and admitted Schwedemann had overdosed while they were driving. He told investigators he panicked, and concealed her body in a cornfield.

According to the Medical Examiner, Schwendemann died of undetermined causes. Methamphetamine and THC were both detected in her system, but the report said there was no evidence of physical trauma or natural disease.

The Douglas County Attorney says McArdell would’ve been immune from prosecution for the methamphetamine had he called 911 at the time, thanks to a “Good Samaritan” law recently passed by the Minnesota legislature. Instead, he’ll be charged with concealing a body and could face up to one year in prison.

Schwendemann was a student at the University of Minnesota, Morris.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — On Wednesday, Dec. 9, WCCO is hosting a phone bank as part of our “Trees of Hope” series.

WCCO will be raising funds for Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge.

MnTC helps thousands of people overcome drug addiction and lead healthy and productive lives. There are even opportunities for patients to work for the nonprofit once they have completed the program.

Kelly Macalus is a grandmother who now spends her days working with women in MnTC’s 13-month in-patient treatment program, but she is also a recovering addict.

“I came from the era where children should be seen and not heard, so you didn’t dare tell anybody because nobody would’ve believed you probably, anyway,” Macalus said.

By the time she was nine, Macalus was living with a terrible secret.

“There was always alcohol in my house, so at night I would just drink alcohol before I went to bed,” she said.

A family friend who lived with Macalus’ family in White Bear Lake sexually abused her as a child. It was a secret that would not go away even as she grew up, got married and had three sons.

“It was a double life. PTA during the day, drugs, you know, in the closet,” Macalus said.

When her marriage ended in divorce, Macalus’ drug abuse got worse. She ended up homeless and addicted to meth. She also lost contact with her children.

“My children never gave up on me, they just didn’t want to watch their mom die,” Macalus said. “I walked into a church, Eagle Brook Church one night and said, ‘Help me, I’m going to die,'” she said.

The church led her to MnTC, where she began to cope with the traumas of the past in order to have a brighter future.

“They don’t give up on you, they see what and who you can be,” she said.

Sober since 2009, Macalus has been working with women patients of MnTC ever since.

“I get to go to work every day and see lives change just like mine changed,” Macalus said. “I get to see that light go off in their eyes.”

Macalus is now a proud grandma to five children who will never know her as an addict

“They just know me as ‘Nana’ that prays with them, plays with them, takes them to church,” Macalus said.

MnTC relies mostly on private donations. Organizers say treating one patient at the in-patient facility costs about $1,500 a year.

Go to WCCO’s Accomplish MN page to find out how to help.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — An Alexandria woman learned Friday she will spend more than seven years in prison for the murder of a man she loved.

Jason Nyberg died in September inside the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault after 34-year-old Melissa Guillette smuggled in methamphetamine and passed it to him.

Jason Nyberg And Melissa Guillette (credit: Bartone Family)

Guillette pleaded guilty to his murder and was sentenced in Rice County court on Friday. She made no secret she was displeased with the judge’s decision.

“I understand what happened, I feel guilty for what happened to him! He was my best friend!” Guillette said.

Judge Thomas Neuville agreed Guillette did not mean for Nyberg to die.

“I do give you some credit for promptly accepting responsibility,” Neuville said.

Guillette admitted she filled two gel tablets with crushed-up, powdery meth back in September and smuggled them into the prison in her back pocket.

“I screwed up, I relapsed, I was clean for 10 years!” Guillette said.

She said Nyberg had asked her to bring him the drugs. Investigators said prison videos show Guillette handed Nyberg the pills during a visit.

(credit: CBS)

Nyberg took the pills and died three hours later in his cell from an overdose.

“This is somewhat more serious than the normal case in that you were introducing contraband into a prison setting,” Neuville said.

Defense attorney Steve Ecker argued Guillette did not have a significant criminal record prior to this murder.

The state agreed to drop the contraband charge if Guillette pleaded guilty to the third-degree murder charge.

“The guidelines for that offense with no criminal history score are 74 months to 103 months,” Neuville said.

Guillette’s emotions boiled over when the judge handed down her sentence of 86 months in prison. This was not the minimum that Guillette and her attorney anticipated.

“I didn’t plan to murder him, I didn’t plan on going into the prison then having him die!” Guillette said. “I made a mistake!”

Neuville countered Guillette’s outburst.

“You don’t have to have intent to kill in order to be guilty of this crime,” Neuville said.

Guillette’s sisters in-law, Tina and Toni Bartone, are helping raise her four children.

The women said they have known Guillette for 10 years, and she lived with them in Douglas County for some time before relapsing within the last year.

“She just wanted to be loved by someone,” Tina Bartone said.

The Bartones said Guillette was sober for some five years before getting involved with Nyberg about one year ago.

“It’s just this cycle, and just continues and continues,” Toni Bartone said. “They just need help.”

Guillette announced, “I’m not a cold-hearted killer,” after her sentence was announced.

“The court sincerely hopes you take advantage of whatever programming is available to you in a prison setting, especially of a chemical dependency nature,” Neuville said.

Guillette will serve her time at the the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee. The Bartones will continue to care for her children.