Traffic Stop in Baxter Leads to Firearm Felony Charges

Baxter Police made a traffic stop around midnight on Jan. 23 for a car with a non-illuminated rear license plate, but upon further inspection found a loaded 20 gauge short-barreled shotgun in the car.

The driver, Lacey Michelle Puttbrese Davis, 26, of Detroit Lakes and her passenger Larry Helmer Hanson, 27, from Duluth were both arrested for a felony for possessing a machine gun and short-barreled shotgun. Larry Hanson was additionally charged with having a dangerous weapon in possession of a controlled substance.

According to the probable cause statement, when the officers initiated the traffic stop, they noticed Hanson had recently vomited on his legs, his eyes were bloodshot and pupils constricted.

Davis provided an expired insurance card but stated that the policy was still current but after speaking with the insurance company the policy had been cancelled in May 2017 and there were no other policies for the vehicle.

The car was stopped on the side of the roadway near an intersection and was determined to be a traffic hazard so a tow truck was called.

The officer than began to inventory the vehicle and found a hypodermic needle on the floor behind the center console. The officer asked Davis if she was diabetic and she responded that she was not.

According to the probable cause the car has the following items inside; a loaded 20 gauge short-barreled shotgun, hypodermic needles, a blue straw with residue, a red straw with residue, two clear straws with residue, a digital scale, a marijuana pipe, a prescription bottle with Davis’ name containing blue tablets and yellow capsules and a clear glass jar labeled “Naloxone HCI”.

The officer noticed a small Ziploc-style bad with a brown crystal-like substance in Hanson’s right front pocket. The substance later tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed approximately 1.6 grams.

In a Mirandized statement, Davis stated that she talked to Hanson several days prior and asked him about finding her a gun. Hanson stated he could find something. Davis knew Hanson acquired a gun. Davis stated that she knew the gun was not in the car before she picked Hanson up and further stated that she saw Hanson carrying the gun. Davis admitted that when they were driving, Hanson told her he was able to find a gun. Davis also admitted that she knew there were straws in the center console that had been used to “snort pills or something.”