On February 18, 2010, a summary of sentencing in a criminal case involving 28 defendants, including Kirk Paul Johnson, 57, of Lutsen, was released by the U.S. Department of Justice. According to United States Attorney B. Todd Jones, the defendants in this case were collectively responsible for distributing between 30 and 50 pounds of methamphetamine in the Duluth area from 2005 to 2008.
Johnson, along with seven other people involved in the case, was sentenced this week in St. Paul. U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank sentenced Johnson to serve 21 months in prison and pay a $2,000 fine.
Johnson was arrested in Duluth on January 9, 2008. His arrest led to a search warrant of his Lutsen home. Members of Cook County Sheriff ‘s Department, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Lake County Sheriff ‘s Department participated in the search on January 10, 2008. At the house they found 13.9 grams of marijuana, 9 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 1.3 grams of methamphetamines, and five glass pipes with residue. Also found was a hidden safe, a number of weapons, and detection/trip alarms protecting the perimeter of the property.
Johnson’s companion, Carolyn Marie Nickolauson, 52, also of Lutsen, was arrested and charged in Cook County with possession of drugs with the intent to sell; possession of marijuana, not a small amount; and possession of drug paraphernalia. Nickolauson pled guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and was convicted of that charge on January 10, 2008. She was fined $287.
Johnson and his 28 co-defendants were indicted on August 20, 2008. All 28 people pled guilty. Sentences for those convicted of being involved with this drug ring ranged from time served and probation to 138 months in prison.
Following the final sentencing, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Bernard J. Zapor said, “ATF, along with our state and local law enforcement partners, will continue to surgically remove these drug traffickers and make the communities in the Northland safer following these successful prosecutions.”
Jones said this case was the result of an investigation by the Duluth Police Department, the ATF, the Lake Superior Drug and Gang Task Force, the Superior, Wisconsin, Police Department, the Minnesota State Patrol, the St. Louis County Sheriff ’s Office, the Carlton County Sheriff ’s Office, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian S. Wilton.
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