Report of running truck leads to drug bust

A report of a running truck at an apartment building parking lot led to numerous drug charges for a Mankato man.

Evan Jay Vasil, 20, faces felony counts of first-degree drug sales, and second and fifth-degree drug possession in Blue Earth County Court.  He’s also charged with gross misdemeanor carrying a BB gun in a public place, and misdemeanor counts of DWI and dangerous weapons.

Mankato Police were dispatched to 20 Hilltop Ln on April 1 for a suspicious vehicle that had been running for about two hours with someone potentially passed out inside.

A criminal complaint Vasil was slumped over in the driver’s seat with his head partially out of the driver’s side window.  As officers tried to wake Vasil up, they noticed a firearm under the driver’s seat, according to the complaint.  He was handcuffed.

Court documents say police found a metal spoon with a white, powdery residue, a 10mm bullet, an unsealed package labeled “Exoctic Cannabis” that contained leafy, green buds, and a lock box in a backpack during a search of Vasil’s truck.  The lockbox was transported to the public safety center to check if it contained a loaded firearm.

Police say the lockbox contained: Plastic baggies with cocaine,  baggies containing meth, 79 M30 pills – which often contain fentanyl – 139 Xanax pills, 47 Clonidine pills, and a plethora of additional pills, including Propranolol, Trazadone, Quetiapine, Gabapentin, and suspected ecstasy.

Officers also found a scale and a torch lighter.

The complaint says Vasil was carrying a switchblade and metal knuckles in his pockets and he admitted to using meth several hours before his arrest.

The complaint says a pill bottle was found in Vasil’s jacket that contained 52 lorazepams, 14 alprazolam, meth, clonidine, morphine, diazepam, and an unidentified orange and white capsule.

Vasil was transported to a medical facility, but is now booked in the Blue Earth County Jail.  His next court appearance is on April 11.