Mailed Marijuana Busted

Joshua Thomas Strand, a 30-year-old Stillwater resident, was charged on Aug. 1 with a felony for an attempt to possess one or more mixtures containing a controlled substance – fifth degree – possession of a not-small amount of marijuana.

The charge stems from a June 2011 incident where, according to the criminal complaint, Strand had three pounds of marijuana sent to his Stillwater home from a Montana address via U.S. mail.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years and $10,000.

According to the criminal complaint: a U.S. Postal Investigations agent contacted the Washington County Sherriff’s office when an employee noticed "strong smell of marijuana coming from a package that was being shipped" from Montana to "Mollasses Tat" in the 900 block of 5th Street South, Stillwater.

A search warrant was obtained after a police K9 dog noted the presence of controlled substances.

"The package contained approximately three pounds of marijuana," the complaint said.

The delivery address was then under police surveillance and an investigator dressed as a U.S. Postal Carrier delivered the package to the home. Strand’s girlfriend allegedly signed for the package, put it in the trunk of her vehicle and "drove away with three children in the vehicle."

Shortly after police stopped her vehicle for a broken taillight and she reportedly said the package was addressed to her boyfriend’s tattoo company "Mollasses Tat" and she wasn’t certain of the contents of the recently-delivered package but assumed it was tattoo supplies.

The girlfriend gave police possible locations for Strand and when he was located he "admitted that he is a tattoo artist and uses the name ‘Molasses Tat’ when ordering supplies," according to the complaint. "The suspected marijuana was separated into three heat sealed bags.

The suspected marijuana was sent to the crime lab for testing and returned a positive result for marijuana and a total weight of approximately 1.376 kilograms."