Rochester Area Men Face 1st Degree Drug Charges in Separate Cases

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - First-degree drug charges were recently filed against two Rochester area men in connection with separate drug investigations.

48-year-old Juan Abel Ochoa faces a first-degree drug sale charge connected to an investigation by Rochester Police that led to his arrest last Thursday. The criminal complaint indicates investigators executed a search warrant on a vehicle driven by Ochoa that led to the seizure of nearly 600 grams of suspected methamphetamine and more than 230 grams of suspected cocaine.

The Byron man was released from custody after posting $25,000 conditional bail and has been ordered to return to court next month.

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The other criminal complaint charges 23-year-old Alex Michael Berg with first-degree drug possession.

The criminal complaint against the Rochester man describes a drug investigation conducted by Rochester Police that began in March. The court document says a detective was contacted by a reliable confidential informant who reported purchasing M30 fentanyl pills from Berg.

The informant was then directed to set up a controlled purchase from the defendant, who allegedly sold the person a number of pills. According to the charges, the informant claimed Berg appeared to be in possession of 500 to 1000 fentanyl pills.

The court record indicates that investigators observed Berg on a motorized bicycle in southeast Rochester in late June. That led to his arrest on "probable cause for drug sales" stemming from the controlled buy that occurred in March.

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The criminal complaint alleges Berg responded to the approach of the investigators by reaching into his waistband, prompting the officers to restrain him. The court document says the investigators then stood him up and saw a baggie containing approximately 150 M30 pills that tested positive for fentanyl had fallen out of his pant leg.

Berg is scheduled to be arraigned on the felony drug charge in Olmsted County Court next month.