Two men arrested in a drug bust at their Grand Forks apartment in December are now charged in federal court with conspiring to deal cocaine and methamphetamine with three men from St. Paul.
According to an indictment unsealed this week, Scott Razmyslowski and Joshua Hulst had worked with Manuel "Chango" Cuevas-Alonso, Isidro Alvarado and Fraenchot Banks since January 2009 to distribute drugs in North Dakota, Minnesota and elsewhere.
Specifically, the five are accused of conspiring to deal more than a pound of meth and more than 11 pounds of cocaine, along with some marijuana and Ecstasy.
The indictment says Razmyslowski and Hulst dealt drugs in Crookston on several occasions in 2009 and 2010. A confidential informant working for local drug agents bought drugs from them five times from Sept. 1 to Nov. 23, court documents say.
A man believed to be Razmyslowski's uncle, Frank Kurz, is charged with assaulting the informant Dec. 19 at a home in Winger, Minn. Kurz, 28, allegedly called the informant a "snitch," threw him to the ground and punched him in the face, court documents state.
ADVERTISEMENT
Cuevas-Alonso, Alvarado, Banks, Hulst and Razmyslowski each face a drug-conspiracy charge. If convicted, the men would forfeit $39,100 in drug money, the indictment says
In addition, Hulst and Razmyslowski are each charged with possessing a gun while committing a drug-trafficking crime.
On Dec. 10, drug agents raided the Grand Forks apartment Razmyslowski and Hulst shared with a third roommate, Elaine Sundquist.
Authorities said the bust yielded about $100,000 worth of marijuana and cocaine. Officers also reported finding nearly $19,000 in cash, more than 6 pounds of marijuana, more than a pound of cocaine, along with other illegal drugs and paraphernalia.
Hulst, 20, and Razmyslowski, 22, had faced drug charges in North Dakota District Court, but those were dropped after the federal charges were filed against them.
Sundquist, 21, has pleaded not guilty to six felony drug charges in North Dakota District Court. She has a pretrial hearing March 17.
Hulst, Razmyslowski, Banks and Cuevas-Alonso have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges and have a jury trial set to start March 29 in Grand Forks.
Cuevas-Alonso, 36, is being held at the Grand Forks County jail. Court documents show that federal authorities have placed an "immigration hold" on him, which likely means he is not a U.S. citizen.
ADVERTISEMENT
Banks, 42, has been released from custody on a $25,000 bond. Razmyslowski, Hulst and Kurz have been released on promises to attend their court hearings or be penalized.
Kurz, who has not entered a plea, is represented by the federal public defender's office which has a policy of not commenting on pending cases.
Alvarado was arrested last month in Texas and was ordered to be held without bond. He does not have a future court date set. He has not entered a plea and it was not clear if he has an attorney.
Reach Ingersoll at (701) 780-1269; (800) 477-6572, ext. 269; or send e-mail to aingersoll@gfherald.com .
