40-year-old man receives multiple charges in Chisholm drug bust

CHISHOLM, MN. (Northern News Now) - A Chisholm man received multiple charges last week for his involvement in a drug bust.

According to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, on March 21, the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force (LSVOTF) was assisted by local law enforcement to execute a search warrant at the residence on the 700 block of 3rd St. NW in Chisholm.

The search warrant was executed due to a narcotics investigation involving 40-year-old Justin Dean Stauffer.

Officers say when they arrived it appeared Stauffer was seen leaving his bedroom and exiting the rear of the house in what appeared to be an attempt to evade law enforcement.

After police K9 “Bear” gave a few warning barks from where he was guarding the rear perimeter, Stauffer complied with officer commands and was arrested without incident.

He was then searched pursuant to the search warrant, which is when drug paraphernalia was located on him.

A search of Stauffer’s bedroom was then conducted.

Officers found and seized an AR-15 rifle, ammunition, and two magazines.

In addition, they also seized an assortment of suspected controlled substances including approximately two ounces of meth, over eight grams of fentanyl, 0.6 grams of cocaine, a small amount of marijuana, and numerous schedule two and schedule four controlled pills.

Seized items in Chisholm drug bust(Northern News Now)

Digital scales and other evidence of drug distribution were also seized.

On March 24, Stauffer’s bail was set at $300,000 after receiving multiple charges during his arraignment hearing at the St. Louis County Courthouse in Hibbing.

Stauffer was charged with first-degree sale of meth, third-degree sale of fentanyl, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, and felon in possession of a firearm.

He has had multiple prior felony convictions on his record relating to drug possession and fleeing law enforcement.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement from the incident:

“On average, 2 milligrams of fentanyl is considered to be a potentially lethal dose, depending on a person’s body size and past usage. Therefore, the 8 grams of fentanyl seized equates to several thousand lethal doses. While this incident doesn’t necessarily constitute a large quantity drug seizure in terms of weight seized, the impact of only 8 grams of fentanyl on a small Iron Range community is substantial; as is evidenced by the overdose-related calls that continue to be reported in the region.

The LSVOTF continues to take a proactive approach by aggressively investigating and apprehending individuals who continually show complete disregard for public safety and attempt to profit from distributing fentanyl in the Iron Range area.

The LSVOTF would like to thank the Chisholm Police Department, the Eveleth Police Department K9 Team, and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this investigation.”