Pennington County, MN (trfnews.i234.me) – On December 9, an Oklee resident, Zachariah John Howard, 22, waived his omnibus hearing and entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of aiding and abetting a first-degree controlled substance sale. The maximum penalty for this offense is 30 years of imprisonment. However, according to Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines, the recommended sentence ranges from 56 to 150 months, contingent upon the defendant’s criminal history.
The probable cause statement indicates that in July, Howard procured cocaine for an individual named Rodney Arlan Smith and provided transportation for Smith to conduct a sale in Thief River Falls. Smith is accused of selling one ounce of cocaine to undercover law enforcement officers for $2,000. Consequently, Smith has been charged with first-degree sale of a controlled substance and is scheduled for an omnibus hearing on January 13.
Howard’s subsequent court appearance, a pre-trial hearing, is scheduled for 2 p.m. on January 27.
I’m Chris Harper, reporting for trfnews.i234.me