(Jackson, Mn.)– Jackson County Attorney Robert O’Conner announced Monday prosecution of two suspects in a drug trafficking case is being transferred to the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.
O’Conner says a federal grand jury last week returned indictments naming 26-year-old Joel Aquirre and 25-year-old Eric Sandoval…both of Storm Lake.
The two men had been charged in Jackson county, but O’Conner says the local charges will now be dropped in light of the federal indictments. O’Conner added the federal system provides tougher penalties and sentences than those in the state system and that transferring the prosecution will maximize the penalties available against Aquirre and Sandoval.
The two men had been charged in connection with a drug buy on August 27th of this year conducted by the Jackson Police Department. Aquirre is accused of bringing more than 50 grams of methamphetamine from Iowa into Minnesota in a vehicle that was being driven by Sandoval. According to court documents, the drug sale was to take place in Jackson. During the transaction, Aquirre was arrested and when Sandoval saw the arrest, he fled, leading officers on a high speed chase through Jackson and Dickinson counties. It ended in Milford where Sandoval was arrested.
The pursuit involved deputies and officers from the Cottonwood, Jackson and Dickinson County Sheriff’s Offices, the Minnesota and Iowa State Patrols; and the Heron Lake, Lakefield, Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park and Milford Police Departments.
