A Fridley man charged with selling meth from a room at the Black Bear Casino Resort, and then re-offending while out on bail, has demanded a jury trial.
Jerry Kong Vang, 36, appeared in Carlton County Court Wednesday for his fifth scheduled settlement conference. Except this time, instead of accepting a plea agreement, he demanded a jury trial on both offenses.
Vang is charged with one felony count each of first-degree controlled substance crime and fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance in the first incident, and in the second incident he is charged with one felony count of second-degree possession of a controlled substance.
The initial incident took place on Feb. 19. Local law enforcement officials conducted a drug bust after suspecting that local individuals were planning a drug transaction with a connection from the Twin Cities area while staying in a rented room at Black Bear Casino Resort. Vang’s car was spotted leaving the casino, crossing the center line twice, so a traffic stop was made. After an open-air sniff of Vang’s vehicle by Cloquet Police K9 Raja, police located a baggie containing approximately .5 grams of meth in the purse of Vang’s female passenger and an orange false container with 2.2 grams of meth inside.
A subsequent search of the hotel rooms of two local individuals suspected of receiving drugs from Vang yielded a purple velvet bag containing an additional 16.1 grams of meth. A search of a car belonging to one of the suspects also yielded an orange pill bottle containing approximately 1.8 grams of meth and other prescription drugs.
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The investigation revealed that Vang had allegedly transported the meth into the area and sold it in the hotel room to the other defendants.
Bail was set at $10,000 bond or $1,000 cash, which Vang later posted.
Then, on March 19, a Fond du Lac police officer conducted a traffic stop on Reservation Road. Vang and two others were located inside the vehicle, and a search by the Fond du Lac K9 located a Doritos chip bag in the back seat where Vang had been sitting that contained a bindle of meth with a gross field weight of 7.42 grams.
Despite numerous attempts to come to a plea agreement in the two cases, Vang continues to maintain his not guilty plea stated his attorney, Joanna Weigert, following his court hearing on Wednesday.
Carlton County Attorney Thom Pertler said a court date has not yet been set but added, “The matter will be resolved by a trial in the near future.”
Vang remains free on bail.
