logo
Published on Shakopee Valley News (http://www.shakopeenews.com)

Cocaine was deodorant; drug charges dropped

By Pat Minelli
Created 10/05/2008 - 9:08am

A Shakopee man arrested for drug possession after Lake Crystal police found 6 grams of a white powdery substance in his car was released from jail Wednesday.

It turns out it was likely just deodorant hidden in that deodorant container after all, the Mankato Free Press reported.

Cornelius F. Salonis, 31, was arrested for driving while intoxicated on Aug. 3 in Lake Crystal. He had been in jail since then because the officers who made the stop reported finding cocaine in the car.

A field test showed the substance, which was found in a deodorant container, was cocaine, said Richard Hillesheim, Salonis’ attorney. A more extensive Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension test, which was returned late last month, showed there were no illegal substances in the powder.

“We got the test results back, and it was deodorant,” Hillesheim told the Free Press.

Salonis was scheduled to go to trial Oct. 15. Instead, after getting the BCA test results, prosecutors dismissed the felony drug charges Wednesday and allowed Salonis to plead guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated.

Advertisement. Article continues below.

He was sentenced to a year in jail. All but 90 days of the jail sentence was stayed, so Salonis was released. He’d already served 60 days and 30 days was taken off the sentence for good behavior.

Pat McDermott, assistant Blue Earth County attorney, told the Free Press that it’s rare for someone to be arrested for drug possession, then have the substance turn out to be something else. He said he didn’t know if the drug test was done incorrectly or if the test was faulty.

The test did not show what the powder actually was, just that it wasn’t an illegal substance, said McDermott, who has been a prosecutor for 18 years.

Salonis could not be reached for comment.



Source URL:
http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/cocaine_was_deodorant_drug_charges_dropped-7266