Minneapolis Police Find 4 Pounds Of Marijuana In Lyndale Garage

A Minneapolis man has been charged with felony drug possession after police say they found four pounds of marijuana in his garage.

Michael Allen Biskey, 55, who lives in the 400 block of 36th Street West, is charged with fifth-degree drug possession, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

A conviction for this charge doesn't always lead to prison time. Find out why .

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Minneapolis Police Officer Benjamin Henrich, officers were on routine patrol in an alley between Harriet and Grand avenues and 36th Street about 11:00 p.m. on June 14, because of a robbery in the area earlier in the day.

Police spotted a man, later identified as Biskey, working on a lock or door handle on a garage in the alley. Biskey, who was wearing a very large camping backpack, flattened his body against the garage door and stopped moving when the police squad car drove past, according to the complaint.

Officers parked and approached the garage, from which they could smell a strong odor of marijuana, the complaint says. Biskey was no longer outside, but they could hear someone moving inside the garage.

Police spoke to Biskey through the closed garage door, and he eventually opened it. Officers ordered him outside and checked to see whether there was anyone else in the garage; an officer spotted several large bags of marijuana on a table beside Biskey’s backpack, with more plastic bags visible inside the backpack, according to the complaint.

Biskey was arrested, and police found more marijuana in a barrel in front of the table, the complaint says.

Biskey was convicted in 2010 of felony drug possession in both Carlton and Sherburne counties and was sentenced to a year in prison.

Biskey is free on a $3,000 bond. His next court appearance is scheduled July 9 in Hennepin County District Court.

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