Meth sale conviction appeal denied

By Dan Nienaber
Free Press Staff Writer

August 20, 2008 01:00 am

— A 33-year-old woman sentenced to seven years in prison for selling methamphetamine to a New Ulm drug investigator in 2006 has lost an appeal to have her conviction overturned.
A jury found Susan Serrato guilty of first- and second-degree drug sales after a trial in 2007. She appealed the conviction, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to prove she was directly involved in the crimes and that District Court Judge John Rodenberg abused his discretion by denying a request to delay the trial.
Serrato was arrested in November 2006 after a New Ulm narcotics investigator received a tip that Bradley Joel Hoecke, 29, of Redwood Falls was a methamphetamine supplier in the area. The investigator called Hoecke several times and set up a deal to buy 14 grams, or a half ounce, of the drug.
When the investigator met with Hoecke at a parking lot in New Ulm, Serrato was with him. Hoecke and Serrato didn’t have the full 14 grams but arranged to sell the investigator just over 6 grams of meth. Another deal was set up where Hoecke delivered another 5 grams to the officer. Serrato wasn’t there, but the officer said he set the deal up with her over the telephone.
During that sale, Hoecke said Serrato was going to Willmar to pick up more meth from their source. Serrato was stopped by police on her way back from Willmar, but no meth was found.
Someone has to sell at least 10 grams of meth to be guilty of a first-degree drug charge. Serrato’s appeal said there wasn’t enough evidence to tie her to the second sale, which put the amount over 10 grams. Just 3 grams is enough for a second-degree charge.
During trial, Serrato testified she was a meth addict and Hoecke was her supplier. She said she was coming down from a meth high the day they met with the investigator. She also admitted to answering the telephone when the investigator called to set up the second sale but denied knowing who was calling or what the call was about.
The Court of Appeals ruled there was enough evidence, based on the investigator’s testimony, to tie Serrato to both drug deals.
Serrato also claimed her trial should have been delayed because she was only able to reach her attorney two days before trial. The Court of Appeals ruled that was her fault because she didn’t contact him and didn’t return messages he had left at telephone numbers she had provided to him.
Hoecke pleaded guilty to the first-degree charge and was sentenced to 78 months in prison, or six months less than Serrato.