Suspected drug dealer chewed up fentanyl pills during traffic stop, say charges

A man suspected of selling drugs chewed up pills containing fentanyl during a traffic stop, according to charges filed in Blue Earth County Court.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Shawn Thomas Deutsch of Mankato, who has no permanent address.

According to a criminal complaint, Deutsch sold 20 Mbox 30 pills to a Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force confidential informant in December. Mbox 30 pills – or counterfeit Oxy – often contain fentanyl.  The pill were sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing.

In January, Deutsch allegedly offered to sell another 90 Mbox 30 pills. Task force agents realized there were active warrants for his arrest, according to the complaint, and decided to initiate a traffic stop.

Investigators Deutsch put the pills in his mouth during the traffic stop and “attempted to eat, chew, or swallow the pills.”  The complaint says he spit the pills into a snowbank, where deputies later located 12 full pills and several partial pieces from other tablets.

The complaint says Deutsch, whose mouth was “blue and chalky,”  was taken to an emergency room for medical care.

Deutsch faces felony charges of first and second-degree sale of drugs containing fentanyl. He has a previous 2nd-degree drug conviction from Le Sueur County.  He was discharged from probation in 2017 in that case.