{"id":72938,"date":"2026-11-12T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=72938"},"modified":"2026-11-11T06:20:03","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T12:20:03","slug":"thief-river-falls-cocaine-case-ends-in-4-year-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/thief-river-falls-cocaine-case-ends-in-4-year-sentence\/","title":{"rendered":"Thief River Falls Cocaine Case Ends in 4-Year Sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"

THIEF RIVER FALLS, MN \u2013 (trfnews.i234.me)<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A Puerto Rico man has been sentenced to prison in two Pennington County cocaine cases involving possession and drug sales.<\/p>\n

Nathanael Centeno Reyes, 30, of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, received two concurrent 48-month prison sentences on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The sentences stem from separate investigations involving cocaine possession and a controlled drug purchase in 2024.<\/p>\n

Four-Year Prison Sentence Ordered<\/h2>\n

In the first case, Reyes was sentenced for felony first-degree possession of 50 grams or more of cocaine.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors dismissed additional charges involving cocaine sales and possession of at least 10 kilograms of cannabis flower.<\/p>\n

Reyes received a 48-month prison sentence to run concurrently with his sentence in the second case.<\/p>\n

He was also ordered to provide a DNA sample and pay $210 in fines and fees.<\/p>\n

The court prohibited him from possessing firearms, ammunition, or dangerous weapons unless his civil rights are restored.<\/p>\n

Traffic Stop Leads to Major Drug Discovery<\/h2>\n

The investigation began October 5, 2024, during a traffic stop near the Highway 32 roundabout.<\/p>\n

Reyes was driving a vehicle owned by Elmer Baez Rodriguez, according to the case details.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez had a revoked driver’s license and was on probation at the time.<\/p>\n

Investigators reported smelling marijuana coming from the rear of the vehicle.<\/p>\n

After contacting Rodriguez’s probation officer, authorities conducted a search.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez reportedly acknowledged that approximately 30 pounds of marijuana were inside the trunk.<\/p>\n

Investigators discovered duffel bags and a garbage bag containing multiple vacuum-sealed packages of suspected marijuana.<\/p>\n

\"Nathanael<\/a>
Nathanael Centeno Reyes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Investigators Uncover Alleged Cocaine Operation<\/h2>\n

Rodriguez allegedly told investigators that he and Reyes had purchased marijuana in Modesto, California.<\/p>\n

He claimed Reyes helped distribute marijuana and cocaine.<\/p>\n

According to investigators, Rodriguez described obtaining cocaine from Puerto Rico through the mail.<\/p>\n

He allegedly purchased approximately 125 grams every three to four months for $1,750 per shipment.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez claimed Reyes sold cocaine for approximately $100 per gram.<\/p>\n

These statements were part of the investigation and were attributed to Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

Search Reveals More Than 155 Grams of Cocaine<\/h2>\n

Reyes later consented to a search of his residence, according to the case information.<\/p>\n

He reportedly led investigators into a bedroom and opened a safe.<\/p>\n

Inside, investigators found three bags containing a white powdery substance and approximately $7,500 in cash.<\/p>\n

One bag also contained 11 smaller packages.<\/p>\n

Testing by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed that two bags contained 155.581 grams of cocaine.<\/p>\n

The discovery supported the first-degree drug possession case.<\/p>\n

Separate Cocaine Sale at LaFave Park<\/h2>\n

The second case involved a controlled drug purchase arranged through a confidential informant in August 2024.<\/p>\n

Investigators reported that Rodriguez contacted the informant about purchasing cocaine.<\/p>\n

A controlled purchase was scheduled for August 16 at LaFave Park.<\/p>\n

According to the investigation, Rodriguez arrived with Reyes in a vehicle.<\/p>\n

Reyes allegedly handed the informant a bag of cocaine and received $800 in exchange.<\/p>\n

Laboratory testing confirmed the substance contained 13.816 grams of cocaine.<\/p>\n

Two Cocaine Convictions Result in Concurrent Sentences<\/h2>\n

Reyes was sentenced for felony second-degree cocaine sales in the separate case.<\/p>\n

A third-degree cocaine possession charge was dismissed.<\/p>\n

He received another 48-month prison sentence, concurrent with the first sentence.<\/p>\n

Because the terms run together, they do not combine into an eight-year prison term.<\/p>\n

The original sentencing report also indicated Rodriguez faced separate proceedings and an outstanding arrest warrant.<\/p>\n

His current case status has not been independently confirmed.<\/p>\n

Additional information about Minnesota’s controlled substance laws is available through the first-degree drug statute<\/a> and second-degree drug statute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Public court records can be searched through Minnesota Court Records Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

Nathanael Centeno Reyes of Puerto Rico received concurrent four-year prison sentences in two Pennington County cocaine cases involving possession and sales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72940,"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":[13594,11029,32047,777,778],"trf_mt_town":[29427],"trf_mt_county":[29510],"trf_mt_topic":[29493],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-72938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-court-sentencing","tag-drug-charges","tag-nathanael-centeno-reyes","tag-pennington-county","tag-thief-river-falls"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72938","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=72938"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72941,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72938\/revisions\/72941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72938"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=72938"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=72938"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=72938"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=72938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}