Clements man found guilty of meth sale during controlled buy

Darin James Sell, 41, of Clements, was found guilty in Redwood County Court of the sale of methamphetamine in the Third Degree. Sell will be sentenced on Sept. 25, at the Redwood County Courthouse.  

According to the criminal complaint, evidence, and testimony at trial, on November 18,  2021, at about 5 p.m., Sell sold 5.248 grams of methamphetamine for $200 to a confidential informant during a controlled buy supervised by agents from the Brown  Lyon Redwood Renville Drug Task Force. The sale was arranged earlier in the day via text messages between Sell and the informant.

At about 4:46 p.m. the confidential informant arrived at Sell’s residence in rural Clements. Sell’s brother entered the  vehicle and handed the informant a baggie containing a substance that later tested positive for  methamphetamine. Sell entered the vehicle about 15 minutes later and the informant paid him $200.  

County Attorney Jenna Peterson, who prosecuted the case, told the jury in her closing argument, “This was a  controlled buy. An operation done under the direct supervision of Drug Task Force Agents. This  operation was set up with every possible safe guard in place to insure the integrity of the operation. There was a specific plan and it was followed to a T.”  

The jury deliberated for about 25 minutes on August 24, before delivering the guilty verdict around 5:00 p.m.