Traffic stop leads to drug charges

According to the criminal complaint, two Pine County deputies and an officer from the Mille Lacs Tribal Police Department were monitoring traffic in Hinckley when their attention was drawn to a white Chevrolet Malibu at a local gas station near I-35. 

The complaint states that the driver was identified as Kristina Lynn Schultz, age 32, and the passenger identified as Amanda Leigh Gunter, 33. 

The Malibu was observed leaving the gas station and heading toward Fire Monument Road, beginning to turn east without signaling. The vehicle came to an abrupt stop and reversed backward into a Hinckley parking lot. 

According to the complaint, the vehicle then turned and was directly facing the marked Pine County squad car that was located on Fire Monument Road, illuminating the squad with its headlights. The vehicle paused for several seconds, then performed a U-turn and went back toward the gas pumps at the gas station.

 After the deputies stopped the vehicle and identified the occupants, one of the deputies asked the driver to exit the vehicle. The deputy noticed a butane torch lighter on the driver’s seat and a small ziplock bag on the floor between the driver’s door panel and the driver’s seat. The Tribal officer had arrived to assist and began to speak to Gunter. The officer could see that there was a white crystal substance consistent with controlled substances in the bag.

Gunter was asked to exit the vehicle and was asked if there was anything else illegal inside. Gunter said that she had half an ounce of marijuana inside a can in her black bag. One of the deputies asked Schultz if there was anything illegal in the vehicle and she looked at the ground and again said no. The deputy pointed to the officer who was holding the baggie and asked Schultz if she would be honest and tell the deputy what was in the vehicle. Schultz said it was not her vehicle. Schultz denied being in possession of any controlled substance. 

According to the complaint, during the search of the vehicle, officers located a black duffel bag on the front passenger seat. Inside the bag contained various ziplock baggies containing a white powdery residue, multiple rolls of dollar bills inside, and a fake silver beer can with a removable top that contained multiple ziplock bags.

These bags contained a large amount of a green leafy substance, white rock-like substance which tested positive for cocaine with an uncertified weight of 31 grams, a bag containing a white powdery substance suspected to be fentanyl.

Gunter was advised of her rights and agreed to provide a statement. She denied intending to sell any of the controlled substances.

During the intake at the Pine County Detention Center, according to the complaint, Schultz was found in possession of a ziplock bag containing a white crystalline substance consistent with methamphetamine. A record showed that Schultz was previously convicted of Controlled Substance Crime in the second degree on Nov. 22, 2021.

Gunter has been charged with one felony count of second degree drug possession of 25 grams or more cocaine or methamphetamine that comes with a maximum prison sentence of 25 years and/or a $500,000 fine.

Schultz was charged with  one felony count of fifth degree drug possession which comes with a maximum jail sentence of five years and/or a $10,000 fine. She was also charged with one gross misdemeanor of driving after license cancellation which comes with a maximum jail sentence of one year and/or a $3,000 fine.