Traffic Stop in Rochester Leads to Drug Trafficking Conviction

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man recently entered a guilty plea to a felony charge connected to a significant drug seizure in Rochester.

The criminal complaint against 57-year-old Jeffrey Charles Podolske says he was arrested in 2022 on a nationwide extraditable warrant issued by authorities in New Mexico. The charging document says he was apprehended after a Rochester Police Officer spotted him driving a motorcycle without license plates and initiated a traffic stop.

The court document says the officer witnessed placing a leather vest in the saddlebag on the motorcycle as he was being pulled over. According to the criminal complaint, the motorcycle was later searched and investigators found 685 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl in the vest, along with $1000 cash. Another $1600 in cash was found on his person while Podolske was being searched following his arrest.

Court records show he was released from custody without bail shortly after he was arrested and Olmsted County authorities issued an arrest warrant for him in January after he failed to report to court for a required evidentiary hearing.

READ MORE: Arrest Warrant Issued For Rochester Drug Trafficking Suspect

Podolske was charged with first-degree drug sales and second-degree drug possession. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he admitted to the second-degree possession charge.

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The plea deal indicates prosecutors have agreed to pursue a sentence at the low end of state sentencing guidelines for the offense, which call for a 5 1/2 year prison sentence. The defense has indicated it will argue for a downward departure and seek a probationary sentence in the case.

Podolske is scheduled to be sentenced in late October.