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A Redwood Falls man, Wesley Lemar Andreasen, age 20, was found guilty in Renville County Court Friday of a felony controlled substance crime.

According to the criminal complaint and testimony at trial, on Sept. 28, 2021, Andreasen was driving through the city of Fairfax when his vehicle was stopped. A search of the vehicle located a baggie of small blue pills, known to law enforcement as oxycodone or generic Percocet.

Andreasen and his three passengers purchased the pills in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area believing them to be oxycodone. However, after testing was completed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the pills were discovered to be fentanyl. No oxycodone was located in the pills.  The jury found that Andreasen possessed the pills, notwithstanding the other passengers.

Andreasen will be sentenced on April 27, 2023 at 2:15 p.m. at the Renville County Courthouse.

County Attorney Kingstrom stated, “The amount of cases I prosecute where the substance ends up being something totally different than what the person believed it to be is staggering. Any controlled substance taken without direction of a medical professional is extremely dangerous, which is why they are “controlled” by the State of Minnesota. Mr. Andreasen and his passengers were extremely lucky that a felony conviction is all that came out of this case, and not a funeral.”