Preliminary hearing cancelled in Foslid case, plea deal expected
By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A preliminary hearing on drug charges for Colfax resident Jacob Foslid has been cancelled in Dunn County Circuit Court and a plea deal is expected by next month.
Foslid appeared in court January 25 with his attorney, Stephen Muza, and is charged with felony counts of possessing methamphetamine with intent to deliver, possession of meth, felony bail jumping and a misdemeanor count of possessing drug paraphernalia.
The January 25 preliminary hearing was set for a second set of charges against the 21-year-old Foslid stemming from an incident October 30 when Foslid was stopped for speeding in the Town of Colfax at 2:30 a.m. on county Highway M.
Muza told Judge William Stewart that the case was close to a resolution, and that he needed more time to discuss it with Dunn County District Attorney James Peterson and Foslid’s attorney on another case in Eau Claire.
A court hearing for Foslid on an earlier set of drug charges is set in Judge Rod Smeltzer’s court for February 12, Muza said.
“We might have it all wrapped up by then,” he said.
According to the criminal complaint, during the October traffic stop, deputies found a black nylon brief case behind the driver’s seat that contained an unlocked lock box containing a small metal pipe that smelled like burned marijuana, along with a collection of small baggies.
Additional small baggies were found in the vehicle that a contained a small amount of a crystal-like substance.
A scale, cell phone and a list of telephone numbers were found as well.
Field testing revealed that the crystal-like substance tested positive for methamphetamine and that the other crystal-like substance tested inconclusively but is believed to be Ketamine, the complaint states.
Ketamine is a drug used in human and veterinary medicine for general anesthesia that can cause hallucinations.
Foslid also was arrested June 1 after a traffic stop in the Town of Menomonie when deputies discovered a safe in the car containing illegal drugs and slips of paper with names, telephone numbers and dollar amounts.
The West Central Drug Task Force, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department and the Colfax Police Department subsequently executed a search warrant the afternoon of June 1 at Foslid’s apartment above the Colfax Health Mart Pharmacy.
Foslid pleaded not guilty to the first set of charges in December.
At the January 25 hearing, Muza asked the court to cancel the preliminary hearing on the second set of charges and to schedule another court hearing after the February 12 hearing before Judge Smeltzer.
Foslid is now scheduled to appear before Judge Stewart again on February 26.
