Convicted Rochester Drug Dealer Sent Back to Prison

Get our free mobile app

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A man who previously served time for dealing drugs in the Rochester area is headed back to prison.

41-year-old James Kent Johnson of Eyota was sentenced last week to just over nine years in prison for his conviction on a first-degree drug possession charge. Another first-degree charge involving the sale of drugs was dismissed through a plea agreement Johnson entered into back in July.

The charges stem from a drug raid executed at a residence in the Oak Terrace Estates mobile home park in southeast Rochester in the fall of 2018. Johnson was arrested after investigators found and seized 85 grams of methamphetamine and evidence of drug sales. The criminal complaint also notes Johnson had nearly $3000 in cash in his possession.

Court records show Johnson was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for a similar conviction in 2006. In that case, he also entered into a plea agreement and admitted to a first-degree drug possession charge. His lengthy criminal history also includes an aggravated robbery conviction in 1998 that resulted in an 8-year prison sentence.