WORTHINGTON — Two out-of-town women were arrested following an early Saturday morning traffic stop on charges of sale and possession of illegal drugs.
Driver Natasha Heggestad, 28, of Alexandria, and passenger Jenny Zimmerman, 38, of Osakis, were stopped near the intersection of Minnesota 60 and Interstate 90. They reportedly told the officer that the vehicle, which had New Hampshire license plates, was a rental.
Because both Heggestand and Zimmerman appeared nervous during the traffic stop and both had prior convictions of drug-related offenses, the officer asked to conduct a search of the vehicle. Both occupants said no, so the officer requested a K9 unit to do an exterior sniff. The K9 indicated the presence of narcotics, so the officer was able to legally conduct a search.
The search reportedly revealed the following items inside the vehicle:
- 26 sealed bags of marijuana each weighing one pound, for a total weight of 26 pounds of raw marijuana
- 995 packages of THC edibles each containing 500mg of THC, for a total of 497.5 grams of THC
- 500 THC vape cartridges each containing 1000mg of THC, for a total of 500 grams of THC
- Two glass jars containing 220 grams of THC wax, which is marijuana in its resinous form
- A large amount of empty plastic baggies
- Two THC dab smoking devices
- A vacuum sealer
- Two digital scales
Both Heggestad and Zimmerman were arrested and each was charged with second-degree drug sale, third-degree drug possession and three counts of fifth-degree drug possession. All of the charges are felonies. The most serious, second-degree sale, carries a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison and/or a $500,000 fine, but if the women are convicted, they will be sentenced based on their criminal histories.
Both remain in custody in Nobles County Jail. Their bail hearings were scheduled for Tuesday morning after The Globe's print deadline.
