Waseca trio charged with possessing meth paraphernalia around children

A trio of Waseca residents have been hit with felony charges after police say they found several minors living at a residence which was “not livable for humans or animals” and had extensive meth paraphernalia.

Aubree Kristina Louise Weise Kuster, 33, Gerald Joe Keil, 36, and Hope Lynette Weise, 49, were each charged with felony counts of storing meth paraphernalia in the presence of a child in Waseca County District Court Aug. 19, along with several other charges.

Three and a half weeks prior, Waseca Police and agents with the South Central Drug Investigation Unit executed a search warrant at the residence shared by Aubree Weise Kustner and Gerald Keil, which they say turned up extensive drug paraphernalia in the garage.

In the criminal complaints, police also report that the home was in “irreparable disarray,” with garbage, flies, rotting food, dirty dishes, cigarette butts, alcoholic beverage cans and clothing littered throughout the home, covering almost the entire floor in some rooms.

In addition, police say that beds in the residence had no sheets while the couches were covered and had no cushions. There was no electricity and the bathrooms did not appear to work, so residents had slept in a tent since July 23, even as the yard was covered with dog feces.

Upon executing the search warrant, police found not only Keil and Aubree Weise Kustner at the home along with another adult male, but also four minors including the two year old daughter of Weise Kustner, who was not supposed to have unsupervised contact with her mother.

Weise Kustner claimed that she has been clean for about six weeks while she has been in treatment, and said that while she realized she was not to have unsupervised contact with her daughter, the daughter’s father did not have daycare for that day.

Due to the condition of the home and the presence of children, a MNPrairie Social Worker was also dispatched to the home alongside law enforcement. The Social Worker told Weise Kustner that even if she has been clean, the environment is not safe for her daughter.

Also present at the home was Weise Kustner’s 16-year-old daughter, who had been permanently placed with Hope Weise, and Hope Weise’s 15-year-old daughter. Police say they have observed Hope Weise going in and out of the garage where drugs were stored.

In addition to the felony charges of storing paraphernalia, Weise and Weise Kustner face additional gross misdemeanor charges of child endangerment for allowing children under their care to be present alongside a controlled substance.

Weise faces a third charge, a gross misdemeanor, for child neglect, while Keil faces a felony charge of fifth-degree drug possession after an extensive supply of controlled substances was located not only in the garage but also in his truck.