Two men plead guilty to drug possession in East Bethel
by Eric Hagen
Staff Writer
A 31-year-old East Bethel man and 49-year-old Cedar man both pleaded guilty earlier this month in Anoka County District Court to a felony fifth-degree drug possession charge.
Authorities arrested Elijah John Brekke in his East Bethel home along with Michael Eugene Nordstrom for attempting to manufacture meth in Brekke’s home, according to the criminal complaint.
Both also faced a third-degree sale-manufacturing charge, but this will be dismissed because no finished meth product was located in the home, according to Jessica Rugani, assistant Anoka County attorney.
Nordstrom will be sentenced May 4 and Brekke May 18.
A confidential informant told the sheriff’s office that meth was being manufactured at Brekke’s East Bethel home located at 18211 Jackson St. N.E.
The Anoka County SWAT Team arrived at the home around 7:45 p.m. March 7 with a search warrant in hand. Inside the home, the team found components of a clandestine meth lab in the kitchen. Evidence recovered included pieces of coffee filters with brown residue, a plastic grinder with residue, a turkey baster, a glass jar with powder and two ends of plastic tubing.
A meth pipe with residue, a meth bond with liquid inside of it, five boxes of Sudafed and a Miller High Life box filled with ammunition was recovered in the living room, the complaint states.
When searching Brekke, authorities found a meth pipe with residue, a digital scale, folding knife and brass knuckles.
According to the complaint, Nordstrom told police that Brekke had been staying with him for four days and during that time, they attempted to cook meth using chicken food, toluene and lithium batteries.
Eric Hagen is at eric.hagen@ecm-inc.com
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