Grease Fire in Apartment Leads to Meth Bust in Rochester
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Rochester Police reported uncovering over 90 grams of meth and a firearm after responding to the report of a woman refusing to leave the scene of an apartment fire Sunday.
The criminal complaint filed against 32-year-old Elizabeth Raimann of Rochester Tuesday says firefighters saw her flushing a white powder down a toilet while crews were fighting a grease fire in an apartment complex in the 800 block of 16th St. Southeast. The responding officer found Raimann and reported seeing her holding a glass plate that has a substance on it believed to be methamphetamine.
The officer then searched Raiman’s purse and found a baggie with 4.3 grams of a substance that field tested positive for meth, according to the complaint. Police then obtained a search warrant for the apartment and reported uncovering over 92 grams of meth throughout the unit as well as $8,155 in cash, digital scales and empty baggies.
The complaint says investigators also seized a partially full box of 9mm ammunition and a Mauser Karabiner Model of 1898 Kurz 7.92x57MM rifle. Court records indicate Raimann was convicted of felony drug possession in 2017, which prohibits her from possessing a firearm.
After her arrest, Raimann told police she was cooking mozzarella sticks when the grease fire started. She said she did not know how much narcotics were in the apartment and claimed she was holding the drugs for a friend. She denied knowing about the firearm in the apartment, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors charged Raimann with first-degree drug sales, first-degree drug possession, felon possessing a firearm and obstructing a firefighter. Her conditional bail was set at $25,000 and she remains in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.
