The watchful eye of a local neighborhood has led to a felony drug charge lodged against a Lakeville woman.
Karyena Marye Alken, 27, was charged May 22 before Judge Amy Brosnahan in Isanti County District Court in Cambridge with felony third-degree drug possession, possession of 10 grams of more. Bail was set at $15,000 without conditions or $5,000 with conditions and next court appearance for June 29.
The incident was reported on May 19 after the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a suspicious vehicle that appeared to be parked and hiding in Cambridge Township.
According to the criminal complaint:
On May 19, at 6:10 a.m., Isanti County Deputy Sean Connolly was dispatched to a suspicious vehicle along the 35240 block of Isetta Trail Northeast.
He met with the property owner, who reported a black Jeep was parked on the west side of her pole building and it was being hidden from the roadway. He located the Jeep, and it had dealership placards and also a temporary permit displayed in the rear window. The vehicle doors were locked, and it contained numerous bags, suitcases and a purse.
Connolly also learned there was a suspicious female call at 12:30 a.m. from a residence across the street from the current location.
The woman said she would remain at the residence during the day and was instructed to call law enforcement if anyone returned to the vehicle.
At 10:19 a.m., the woman reported to dispatch that two females walked out of her neighbor’s wood line and went to the Jeep parked next to the pole building. Connolly arrived on scene and identified Alken, who was with another female.
Alken told Connolly she was the subject of the suspicious female call at 12:30 a.m. when she used the telephone and obtained a bottle of water from the neighboring residence. While speaking with both females, Connolly observed mannerisms consistent with controlled substance use. Connolly was told they returned to the Jeep so Alken could retrieve her purse from the vehicle, and Alken was holding the purse Connolly had observed in the Jeep.
While speaking with Alken, Connolly observed Alken make a furtive movement toward the front-passenger-side wheel of his squad car where he observed Alken place a glass pipe underneath the tire. The pipe appeared to contain methamphetamine residue and later field-tested positive for methamphetamine. A search of Alken’s purse recovered another pipe that field-tested for methamphetamine.
Isanti County Investigator Rob Bowker arrived on scene and confirmed the Jeep was stolen out of Chisago County. The vehicle was impounded and searched prior to being towed. In the passenger side of the vehicle, just above where Alken’s purse was located, the officers found a plastic container that contained numerous bindle bags. One bag contained 7.3 grams of a crystal substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, and another bag contained 3.6 grams of a crystal substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
Connolly further inspected the pipe that Alken hid underneath the tire of his squad car. The pipe contained a crystal substance that weighed approximately 2 grams and field-tested positive for methamphetamine.