Crime & Safety

Woodbury Man Who Warned Of Shoot-Out With Police Back in Court On Meth Charges

John Albert Gerst, 38, was arrested on Feb. 2 in Forest Lake after police found 5.5 grams of methamphetamine in his vehicle.

A 38-year-old Woodbury man who was was back in court on Feb. 9 after being arrested again for possession of a controlled substance.

John Albert Gerst was arrested on Feb. 2 in Forest Lake after police there recognized his vehicle as belonging to a man for whom an arrest warrant had been issued last November.

The driver of the vehicle, Allen Todd Young of St. Paul, was also arrested for driving after his license was revoked. 

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According to a Washington County criminal complaint filed on Feb. 3: 

Forest Lake police found a half-empty bottle of Bicardi Rum, a scale used for weighing drugs and 5.5 grams of what was later found to be methamphetamine during a post-arrest inventory search of Gerst's Ford F-150.   

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At the time of his arrest, Gerst was serving five years probation for his drug conviction last November and had been ordered to remain drug-free until 2016.

Young was also serving 10 years probation for a 2007 drug conviction. 

If convicted of the latest charge against him, Gerst could face up to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, as it would be his second drug-related conviction.

Gerst is scheduled to appear in Washington County court for an omnibus hearing on March 8 and, if necessary, a jury trial beginning April 9.


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