WORTHINGTON - Curtdell Jiles, 59, appeared in Nobles County District Court Wednesday afternoon on two separate drug-related charges, both stemming from drug arrests that took place over the last year.
The first is a fifth-degree drug possession charge, a felony.
On March 3, Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force Agent Joe Joswiak was conducting surveillance in Worthington when he saw a car park in front of 1820 Clary St. He recognized Jiles as the passenger in the vehicle.
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Jiles got out of the car, walked up to the house and reached his hand out to the door to take something that was apparently hidden. He then returned to the car.
Joswiak followed the car into a gas station parking lot, then got out to question the two. While speaking with Lang, he noticed Jiles’ right hand was awkwardly placed behind a propane exchange receptacle.
Joswiak found a baggie near the propane exchange receptacle that contained more than 1 gram of methamphetamine.
Jiles said he was given a ride from the laundromat to the house on Clary Street so he could leave a letter for the property owner asking if there was any storage space to rent. The driver said she saw the letter, and was not sure if Jiles already had the substance on him or got it from the house.
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Jiles was arrested and sent to Nobles County Jail, where he posted $2,000 bond.
He plead not guilty to the charge and requested a jury trial. Judge Terry Vajgrt set a one-day jury trial for the case.
In the second case, Jiles is charged with selling a controlled substance in the third degree and three counts of drug possession in the fifth degree, each felonies. He is also charged with possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, a gross misdemeanor, and possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a small amount of marijuana, petty misdemeanors.
Last summer, the Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force learned of possible controlled substance use at 201 Flower Lane in Worthington, where Jiles was living. They executed a search warrant on the residence on Aug. 17.
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Inside the house, agents found 7.3 grams of meth, 6.7 grams of green plant material, one 30-mg Vyvanse pill and three 50-mg Tramadol pills. They also found 1.3 grams of meth on Jiles’ person.
Jiles was arrested and sent to Nobles County Jail, where he posted $3,000 bond.
His attorney, Brittany Sandager, said police need reasonable criminal suspicion for a warrant, and in this case, they had only used a “garbage pull” as the basis for drug activity. She also said agents lacked probable cause to investigate drug activity at the residence
Sandager was given two weeks to write a response on the issues she had with the investigation.
