St. Paul man convicted on drug sale charge

Chou Vang, 41, St. Paul, was sentenced in Morrison County District Court to 56 months in a correctional facility and fined $1,135 for one felony count of first-degree sale of a controlled substance.

The charge stems from an incident in September 2020, when a special agent with the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force, working in an undercover capacity, made arrangements via text message to purchase methamphetamine from Vang. On Sept. 9, 2020, Vang agreed to sell the special agent one ounce of methamphetamine for $1,000. They arranged to meet at a hotel in Little Falls to complete the sale, according to the criminal complaint.

The special agent parked in the agreed upon location and observed a male he believed to be Vang approaching his vehicle. He asked Vang if he had “the stuff.” In response, Vang removed a package from his pants pocket and handed it to the special agent. The special agent gave him the pre-recorded $1,000 in buy money, cash with each bill’s serial number written down to prove the money the suspects have are the same bills the undercover agent provided them with, and Vang left the scene.

The substance Vang sold to the special agent tested positive for methamphetamine and was sent to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) for further testing and weighing. The BCA results showed that the bag contained 23.714 grams of methamphetamine, according to the report.