Six arrested at Jackpot for drugs

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

REDWOOD FALLS -- Bail was set Wednesday morning for the six people arrested at Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel in Morton last week for allegedly selling and possessing narcotics.

One and half a pound of methamphetamine, an ounce of cocaine, $1,500 in cash, six firearms and two vehicles were seized by law enforcement officials on Nov. 21, according to information from the Lower Sioux Police Department. The narcotics reportedly have a street value of about $75,000.

Redwood County Sheriff's Deputy Jim Meyer said the operation yielded the most methamphetamine ever recovered in the county.

"Meth is found in small towns. It's not limited to big cities," he said. "People are more likely to blend in (in rural communities). It doesn't raise people's suspicions."

Arrested that night were Gabriel Sandoval Echavry, 27, of Crystal; Jose Alfredo Medina Gonzalez, 34, of Hutchinson; Timothy John Nelson, 28, of an unknown address; Ignacio Banuelos Sandoval, 32, also of an unknown address; Jose Luis Yanes, 42, also of Hutchinson; and a 17-year old female juvenile from Stewart.

All six stand accused of controlled substance crime in the first degree. Echavry and Sandoval are also charged with aiding and abetting a conspiracy and conspiracy to commit narcotics crime. All of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in jail and a $1 million fine, according to Minnesota criminal statutes.

According to Redwood County court documents, Lower Sioux Police Chief Robert T. Scott began the investigation after a Jackpot Junction hotel security officer notified him that housekeeping personnel allegedly found drug paraphernalia in a room registered to Nelson. Scott and Redwood County Sheriff's Deputy Rick Wakefield searched Nelson's room and allegedly found the paraphernalia and two bags of an "unknown powdery substance", one with a blue color and one that was white.

After leaving for a time, Scott and Wakefield returned to the room and waited until its door opened. Yanes was allegedly the first person to enter the room, followed by Nelson and the female juvenile. All three of them were arrested shortly thereafter. Court documents said Scott found a sandwich bag full of a "pinkish substance" while searching for identification in the juvenile's purse. The juvenile allegedly told Scott the substance was methamphetamine; the bag later tested positive for methamphetamine at a weight of 240 grams. The juvenile later told Scott that Yanes gave her the bag and told her to put it in her purse. She also allegedly admitted using meth with Nelson on the previous day.

Yanes later told Special Agent Enrique Vasquez of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) that the hotel room was actually his, but that Nelson used his name and address to register at the hotel.

On that same day, Scott, along with the Brown-Lyon-Redwood Task Force, BCA, Redwood County Sheriff's Department and Redwood Falls Police Department, reportedly received information on a methamphetamine sale. Court documents said an informant gave the name of "Pepino" as someone who sells methamphetamine. The informant was then taken to Jackpot Junction to make a phone call to Pepino with a request for one pound of methamphetamine to be delivered to a room in the casino hotel for $9,000.

A "Hispanic male" later arrived at the hotel with two other Hispanic males -- one of them was "Pepino", whom court documents said is actually Gonzalez. The three then went to the designated room where the informant and an undercover officer were waiting. Gonzalez allegedly gave the agent a package containing 490 grams of methamphetamine, who paid Gonzalez the money. Gonzalez was arrested shortly after the sale. The other two men, Echavry and Sandoval, were also arrested in a different room in the hotel.

Neither Scott nor Wakefield could be reached for comment.

All six defendants are scheduled for hearings on Dec. 3 in Redwood County.