Charges dismissed against man jailed for drug possession

Published 10:58 am Monday, February 16, 2015

MANKATO — A Mankato man was jailed for months while he waited for the state crime lab to process suspected drugs that turned out to be vitamins.

Joseph Burrell was arrested in November and charged with two felony counts of drug possession. His bail was set at $250,000. The 31-year-old Burrell said he’s not happy it took so long for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to process the evidence.

Blue Earth County assistant attorney Chris Rovney said a field test was positive for amphetamine. A more accurate lab test done by BCA showed the bag of powder found in Burrell’s car didn’t contain anything illegal.

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Charges were dismissed just as Burrell was about to go to trial early this month. He has just completed a stay at a drug treatment center when he was stopped.