Candidate for Boyceville Village Board charged with 2 drug-related felonies
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A Boyceville man who is one of the candidates on the ballot for three open positions on the Boyceville Village Board in the spring election has been charged with two drug-related felonies in Dunn County.
Robert J. Rieckenberg appeared before Judge James Peterson in Dunn County Circuit Court February 11 for a bail hearing.
Rieckenberg, 42, is charged with two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver THC (the active substance in marijuana) and possession with intent to deliver cocaine along with one misdemeanor count of possessing drug paraphernalia.
Prosecuting attorney Lucas Arras asked that bail be set at $1,000 cash.
Judge Peterson set bail at $500 cash.
According to the criminal complaint, a Dunn County deputy was westbound on state Highway 170 at around 8:20 a.m. Monday, February 10, when an eastbound vehicle appeared to be traveling above the posted speed limit.
The deputy activated his radar unit, which indicated the eastbound vehicle was traveling at 68 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone.
“The radar tone was steady and clear,” the complaint states.
The deputy executed a U turn and then stopped the vehicle on Highway 170 just west of 180th Street in the Town of Tiffany.
As the deputy approached the vehicle, he could see the driver shifting items around in the backseat.
The driver was identified by his Minnesota license as Robert Rieckenberg, and while the deputy was speaking to Rieckenberg, he detected the strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to the complaint.
The deputy ran Rieckenberg’s information through Dunn County dispatch and then requested that an officer from the Boyceville Police Department respond to his location.
Marijuana
When the deputy asked Rieckenberg about the last time he had smoked marijuana, Rieckenberg said he had smoked marijuana in Minnesota the previous weekend and that he has a medicinal prescription for marijuana and uses it for pain.
The deputy placed Rieckenberg in the back seat of the squad vehicle and conducted a probable cause search of the defendant’s car based on the odor of marijuana, the complaint states.
During the search, the deputy located several e-cigarette cartridges that appeared to have THC oil in them; a small folding pipe with suspected marijuana; a pill container with suspected marijuana; a backpack with a grinder and fragments of suspected marijuana; two bundles of cash; a black duffle bag with a large quantity of marijuana in a side pocket and a Baggie with smaller Baggies in the duffle bag, along with a scale, according to the complaint.
The deputy also discovered an Ibuprofen container in the duffle bag with two packages of a white substance. One package tested positive for cocaine and the other package was inconclusive on the field test, the complaint states.
Another small container with a suspected “bud” of marijuana was discovered in the car as well as several small pipes and other pieces of drug paraphernalia.
The center console contained a 22-caliber pistol with one round in the chamber.
Rieckenberg said he had a conceal and carry permit for the pistol, according to the complaint.
Other field tests
The deputy placed Rieckenberg under arrest and transported him to the Dunn County jail where the deputy conducted other field tests.
The tests could not identify the 3.6 grams of white substance that was found with the 10.3 grams of white substance that tested positive for cocaine. The deputy believes the unidentified substance may have been intended as a “cut” for the cocaine, according to the complaint.
The large bag containing 30.6 grams of what was suspected to be marijuana tested positive for THC.
“The quantity of substances located, the numerous Baggies and scale are consistent with the distribution of controlled substances and is believed to be more than personal use,” according to the complaint.
Rieckenberg is scheduled for a continued initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court March 10 at 10:15 a.m.
In addition to Rieckenberg, the April 7 ballot for the three open positions on the Boyceville Village Board will include Jonathan Farrell (incumbent), Megan Mittlestadt, Laura Kincade, Keith Sorensen (incumbent) and Michael Roy Ludwig.
Trudie Chernak, who currently serves on the Boyceville Village Board, has decided not to run for re-election.