{"id":44242,"date":"2026-08-20T12:06:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T17:06:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=44242"},"modified":"2026-08-15T22:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T03:18:10","slug":"bemidji-area-stop-leads-to-major-meth-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-area-stop-leads-to-major-meth-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji-Area Stop Leads to Major Meth Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bemidji-Area Stop Leads to Major Meth Charge<\/h2>\n

Bemidji<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A Shakopee man faces a first-degree drug charge after a Beltrami County traffic stop.<\/p>\n

Larry Eugene Burrell Jr., 49, is charged with first-degree possession of cocaine or methamphetamine.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege officers found about 450 grams of suspected methamphetamine inside his vehicle.<\/p>\n

The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.<\/p>\n

It also carries a possible $1 million fine and a four-year mandatory minimum sentence.<\/p>\n

Traffic Stop On Highway 71<\/h2>\n

The investigation unfolded on August 6, 2026, according to the criminal complaint.<\/p>\n

A drug task force agent alerted deputies about Burrell returning to Beltrami County from the Twin Cities area.<\/p>\n

Investigators said Burrell was already a suspect in an ongoing controlled substance sales investigation.<\/p>\n

An officer later reported seeing Burrell’s Lexus speeding north on U.S. Highway 71.<\/p>\n

The vehicle also allegedly passed other vehicles in a no-passing zone.<\/p>\n

A deputy stopped the Lexus near Horace May Elementary School.<\/p>\n

Burrell was the vehicle’s only occupant, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n

\"Larry
Larry Eugene Burrell Jr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Backpack Allegedly Held Meth And Pills<\/h2>\n

The complaint says an officer smelled marijuana while approaching the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Burrell denied knowing about marijuana in the vehicle.<\/p>\n

A search later uncovered marijuana, a glass pipe, and other drug-related items, prosecutors allege.<\/p>\n

Investigators also found a backpack on the rear passenger floor.<\/p>\n

Inside, officers allegedly discovered several bags containing large crystalline shards.<\/p>\n

The substance was believed to be methamphetamine, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

Officers also found about 100 hand-pressed pills inside the backpack.<\/p>\n

Those pills field tested presumptively positive for fentanyl, prosecutors say.<\/p>\n

A prescription bottle bearing Burrell’s name was also inside the backpack.<\/p>\n

Suspected Meth Weighed About 450 Grams<\/h2>\n

Investigators later reported that the suspected methamphetamine weighed approximately 450 grams.<\/p>\n

About 50 grams of marijuana were also reported during evidence processing.<\/p>\n

Burrell denied knowing about the suspected methamphetamine, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

He was arrested and taken to the Beltrami County Jail.<\/p>\n

The complaint states Burrell was on supervised release for prior drug convictions at the time.<\/p>\n

The current case is filed as Beltrami County court file 04-CR-26-1833.<\/p>\n

Readers can review Minnesota Statute 152.021<\/a> for first-degree controlled substance crimes.<\/p>\n

Additional court information is available through the Minnesota Judicial Branch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The charge is an allegation and has not been proven in court.<\/p>\n

Burrell is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 TRF News. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Shakopee man faces a first-degree drug charge after prosecutors say a Beltrami County traffic stop uncovered 450 grams of suspected methamphetamine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[13619,23226,17955,19969,23227,12406,6777,10826],"class_list":["post-44242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-beltrami-county-news","tag-bemidji-drug-bust","tag-first-degree-drug-charge","tag-highway-71-traffic-stop","tag-larry-eugene-burrell-jr","tag-methamphetamine-possession","tag-minnesota-drug-charges","tag-shakopee-man-charged","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44243,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44242\/revisions\/44243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}