{"id":72211,"date":"2026-11-07T14:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T20:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=72211"},"modified":"2026-11-07T05:51:55","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T11:51:55","slug":"brainerd-traffic-stop-leads-to-felony-drug-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/brainerd-traffic-stop-leads-to-felony-drug-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Brainerd Traffic Stop Leads to Felony Drug Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

BRAINERD, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2013 A Brainerd traffic stop led to felony drug possession and gross misdemeanor DWI charges against a 29-year-old man.<\/p>\n

Andrew Philip Ciesluk, 29<\/strong>, is accused of possessing methamphetamine and operating a vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance.<\/p>\n

According to a criminal complaint filed in Crow Wing County District Court, police recovered approximately 0.6 grams of suspected methamphetamine.<\/p>\n

Traffic Violation Leads to Late-Night Stop<\/h2>\n

The investigation began November 3, 2026, at approximately 11:58 p.m.<\/p>\n

A Brainerd police officer noticed a vehicle traveling westbound on Oak Street with an inoperable upper brake light.<\/p>\n

The officer also observed the vehicle briefly cross into an oncoming traffic lane while apparently preparing to turn south.<\/p>\n

The driver then changed direction and continued westbound.<\/p>\n

Police stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as Ciesluk.<\/p>\n

A woman was seated in the front passenger seat.<\/p>\n

Officer Reports Signs of Possible Drug Impairment<\/h2>\n

According to court documents, the officer noticed that Ciesluk’s pupils appeared dilated and his fingers were moving restlessly.<\/p>\n

The officer, who was trained as a drug recognition evaluator, began investigating possible impairment.<\/p>\n

During questioning, Ciesluk initially reported using fentanyl earlier that Tuesday.<\/p>\n

He later changed his account, saying he had used fentanyl the previous Sunday.<\/p>\n

The officer asked Ciesluk to complete field sobriety testing.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, Ciesluk completed two tests but declined additional testing.<\/p>\n

During one test, the officer observed eyelid tremors and swaying.<\/p>\n

Ciesluk also estimated a 30-second interval as lasting 39 seconds.<\/p>\n

Police reported that Ciesluk later acknowledged using methamphetamine and fentanyl that morning.<\/p>\n

\"Andrew<\/a>
Andrew Philip Ciesluk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Police Discover Suspected Methamphetamine<\/h2>\n

Officers arrested Ciesluk on suspicion of driving while impaired by a controlled substance.<\/p>\n

Police then searched his vehicle.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, officers discovered a backpack directly behind the driver’s seat.<\/p>\n

Inside, they allegedly found a glass pipe and a small quantity of suspected methamphetamine.<\/p>\n

The substance weighed approximately 0.6 grams<\/strong> and produced a positive preliminary field-test result for methamphetamine.<\/p>\n

Methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance under Minnesota law.<\/p>\n

Blood Sample Collected After Arrest<\/h2>\n

Following the arrest, Ciesluk was transported to a local hospital.<\/p>\n

Investigators obtained a search warrant authorizing the collection of blood or urine for chemical testing.<\/p>\n

Ciesluk provided a blood sample at the hospital.<\/p>\n

The criminal complaint does not include the results of laboratory testing on that sample.<\/p>\n

He was later transported to the Crow Wing County Jail.<\/p>\n

Felony Drug and DWI Charges Filed<\/h2>\n

Prosecutors charged Ciesluk with fifth-degree controlled substance possession under Minnesota Statute 152.025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The felony charge carries a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

He also faces a gross misdemeanor DWI charge involving a controlled substance under Minnesota Statute 169A.20<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The complaint cites a previous DWI conviction from 2017 as an aggravating factor.<\/p>\n

Under Minnesota Statute 169A.26<\/a>, the alleged offense qualifies as third-degree DWI.<\/p>\n

That charge carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail, a $3,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

Crow Wing County Court Case<\/h2>\n

The case is filed in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District under court file number 18-CR-26-4130<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The complaint lists an order of detention and references prior controlled substance convictions.<\/p>\n

The allegations have not been proven in court. Ciesluk is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Brainerd traffic stop led to felony drug and DWI charges after police allegedly found methamphetamine and observed signs of impairment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72213,"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":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[31398,11029,883],"trf_mt_town":[],"trf_mt_county":[],"trf_mt_topic":[29494,29493],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-72211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-andrew-philip-ciesluk","tag-drug-charges","tag-dwi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72211","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=72211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72214,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72211\/revisions\/72214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72211"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=72211"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=72211"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=72211"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=72211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}