Olmsted County man convicted in drug conspiracy

(ABC 6 News) – An Olmsted County man was convicted in federal court Nov. 17 for conspiring to distribute controlled substances and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Christopher Allen Edwards, 39, was arrested in Oct. 2021 with four kilograms of cocaine in his Rochester-area rental car.

Olmsted County law enforcement had determined that Edwards and his co-conspirator, Chloe Michelle Johnson, 25, were dealing drugs throughout Rochester and SE Minnesota from May 2021 to Oct. 16, 2021, the date of their arrests.

According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, law enforcement tracked Edwards’ rental vehicle from Minnesota to Austin, Texas and back, and caught him with the cocaine as he drove back into Olmsted County.

A later search warrant found cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine packaged for distribution in Edwards’ and Johnson’s residences.

On May 12, 2022, Johnson pleaded guilty to her role in the drug trafficking conspiracy. She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 9, 2023.

Edwards’ sentencing is yet to be scheduled.