Scheper charged for drug sale, possession of stolen handgun

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After turning himself in on a warrant, Matthew Louis Scheper, 20, was charged July 2 in Carlton County Court with two felonies – first-degree possession of drugs for sale and receiving stolen property – and one misdemeanor charge of carrying or possessing a pistol without a permit in a public place.

According to the criminal complaint, Scheper (accompanied by co-defendant Jeffrey Scott Gauthier, 20) allegedly sold $800 worth of cocaine (14.9 grams) to a police informant in the parking lot between Premiere Theaters and L&M Fleet Supply on March 13. When marked squad cars stopped the vehicle following the alleged sale, they retrieved $740 in marked money from Scheper and $60 from Gauthier, who had been paid for his part in the alleged transaction, the complaint stated.

At the time of the arrest, Cloquet police detectives also retrieved a loaded 9 mm Beretta handgun from underneath the front passenger seat. Scheper allegedly told police he brought the handgun with him to avoid being robbed during the drug sale. Detectives later learned the handgun was, in fact, stolen from the city of Duluth, according to the

complaint.

Scheper appeared in court again Monday, when he was appointed a public defender who asked for bond to be reduced from $75,000 to $30,000 (or $3,000 cash).

An omnibus hearing for Scheper is set for 9:07 a.m. July 21.

Tags: carlton county, news, crime, drugs, fccnetwork