Suspected drug dealer pleads guilty

Published 7:03 am Friday, August 21, 2009

A man arrested earlier this month during a multi-agency drug bust in Austin pleaded guilty to a felony charge Thursday.

Michael Joseph Vasquez, 28, pleaded guilty in Mower County court to fifth-degree drug possession and will be sentenced on Feb. 26 of next year.

On Aug. 6, the Southeast Minnesota Narcotics and Gang Task Force, a unit composed of various police departments and sheriff’s offices in the region, searched Vasquez’s 710 10th Ave. S.W. home.

Email newsletter signup

According to a court complaint, officers found two pounds of marijuana in an upstairs bed room, plus numerous other small bags throughout the house and garage. Two digital scales were also seized in the kitchen.

Vasquez and a few other people were home during the search. When questioned later, Vasquez said the drugs belonged to him and that he had bought them for $400.

Austin Police Chief Paul Philipp said previously that Vasquez had been a suspected drug dealer, which led to the task force’s search.