Pound of meth netted after drug sting

Three people, including two from Owatonna, have been charged in connection with a weekslong investigation that ended with a foot chase and the recovery of nearly a pound of methamphetamine.

Rylee Lee Burns, 31, of Owatonna, faces one felony count each of first-degree aggravated controlled substance crime and firearm, and possession of a firearm after conviction for crime of violence, in addition to a misdemeanor count of fleeing a peace officer.

Kristi Mary Smith, 30, also of Owatonna, was charged with one gross misdemeanor count of possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.

Robert Bruce Sproles, 37, of St. Peter, faces a felony count of possession of a firearm after conviction for crime of violence.

They all made their first appearance April 24 in Steele County District Court.

Smith was conditionally released from custody without bail; Burns was released from custody in lieu of $100,000 conditional bond. Sproles remains in custody in lieu of $30,000 conditional bond.

The investigation began in mid-March, when officers with the South Central Drug Investigation Unit learned Burns was possibly trafficking narcotics, the complaint says, and talking about “pound-level transactions” of meth.

They learned Burns lived on El Dorado Street, but kept drugs and guns at a garage he uses on State Avenue, court documents say.

Officers watched as Smith drove Burns to the Twin Cities on April 22, returning the next morning. Later that day, Burns headed back to the Twin Cities, then headed south on Interstate 35 about 6:30 p.m.

Agents with SCDIU believed he had picked up meth in the Metro area; an Owatonna Police officer initiated a traffic stop on State Avenue for a broken brake light when the vehicle came into town.

Smith was driving again; Burns was in the front passenger seat “attempting to conceal some pipes and tubing” between the center console and his leg, the complaint says. Two deputies who responded to the call repeatedly gave Burns commands to keep his hands visible; they believed there was a gun in the vehicle.

Smith, Sproles and a third unidentified person were asked to get out of the SUV and complied; Burns continued to ignore commands about keeping his hands visible.

As one of the officers unbuckled Burns’s seat belt, Burns stuffed a small bag near the console – then took off running east, the complaint says.

Both deputies chased him while two officers stayed with Smith, Sproles and the third person.

When asked to lift her sweatshirt for a weapons check, Smith removed it and set it on the ground. An officer saw the grip of a pistol protruding from the sweatshirt pocket, court documents say.

She reportedly told the officer, “It’s his, I’m sorry.” The gun, a 22 caliber Smith and Wesson, had a round chambered and several rounds in the magazine.

Sproles allegedly admitted he had a magazine in his pants pocket; it was filled with 9 mm ammunition.

As Smith was being taken to the Steele County Detention Center, she told the officer she had swallowed a bag of fentanyl and needed to go to the hospital, the complaint says. Once there, she told nurses it was meth and fentanyl, according to the report, and she had swallowed it when she was pulled over so she wouldn’t be charged with drug possession.

Meanwhile, Burns was running from two deputies as an SCDIU officer followed in a vehicle.

Burns was digging at his front pants pocket as he angled toward the CashWise Foods parking lot. The SCDIU officer could see Burns pulling on the handle of a revolver sticking out of his pants pocket, the court documents say.

The officer continued to follow Burns, who was described as bleeding from a fall in the parking lot and soaked from heavy rain. The officer pulled his own gun inside the vehicle and continued to shout commands to Burns, who stumbled and fell in the roadway on North Street.

The complaint says he was still trying to pull the gun from his pocket as the two deputies caught up and eventually removed the firearm from Burns’s pocket.

A search of Smith’s vehicle revealed a Smith and Wesson magazine loaded with 22 long rifle bullets.

The bag Burns had discarded before running from the SUV contained a very large bag with nearly a pound of what would later field test presumptive positive as meth, the criminal complaint says.

Also inside the vehicle were a backpack and a large bag; the backpack allegedly contained a drug ledger and drug paraphernalia.

The bag reportedly held a 9 mm handgun that was missing a magazine, as well as plastic bags containing about a quarter-pound of marijuana.

A search warrant was executed at the garage on State Avenue late that night. A makeshift room framed in at the back of the garage is believed to have been used to conduct Burns’s drug trafficking operation, court records say.

There were multiple kinds of drug paraphernalia, the document says, including scales, bags, ledgers and scoops “for scooping large amounts of meth onto a large scale or into bags.”

A gun case inside the garage contained an AR-15 with a large capacity drum magazine loaded into the weapon; several other firearms and ammunition was found in the back room.

On April 24, detectives found a handgun in the parking lot of a business along the path Burns took while running from law enforcement.

He is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court on May 7.

Sproles was due back in court April 28; Smith’s initial appearance is set for July 6.