Stigen was convicted of first degree controlled substance crime for selling meth
A Crookston man who had his 2016 sentence amended from 322 months in prison for selling methamphetamine was re-sentenced Tuesday by a judge to 150 months with credit for time served of 860 days.
Zane Robert Stigen, 49, was charged with a first-degree controlled substance crime in September 2015 and was sentenced in February 2016 after a jury trial, but, after the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned his sentence saying Judge Anne Rasmussen should not have allowed the Polk County Attorney’s Office to use evidence from Stigen’s prior drug convictions in the trial, Stigen was awarded a new trial.
After the February 2016 jury trial, Judge Rasmussen had originally sought after an aggravated durational departure meaning Stigen was sentenced to serve more time than state guidelines call for.
Stigen was arrested in September 2015 after a multi-person drug bust where one person said he owed money to another person who was getting his meth from Stigen. With assistance from authorities, the person arranged to purchase four “8-balls” or one-eighth of an ounce of meth for $325 per “8-ball.” After the pair met in the Walmart parking lot for the exchange, law enforcement followed and arrested the seller who said the meth in his car was from Stigen. A Polk County deputy then applied for and obtained a warrant to search Stigen’s address on Marin Avenue.
After Stigen was arrested, and an on-site urine sample indicated positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine, Stigen refused to identify the person he got the meth from.
According to Stigen’s criminal history, he has multiple convictions of controlled substance crimes, conspiracy to sell controlled substances, and five strikes as being listed as a “Career Offender.”