Rochester man accused of handing off cocaine to teenager during traffic stop

(ABC 6 News) – A Rochester man was accused of impaired driving and asking a teenager to hide cocaine in a Freeborn County court case.

According to court documents filed Monday, June 3, a Minnesota State Patrol trooper responded to a call about a possible DWI, and caught up with the suspect vehicle on I-35 near Albert Lea.

According to court documents, the trooper conducted a traffic stop on 39-year-old Roberto Perez’s car and allegedly noticed that Perez’s eyes were bloodshot and there was a smell of alcohol.

However, field sobriety tests did not indicate that Perez was impaired.

According to court documents, there were three juvenile passengers in the car, and when the trooper went to confirm that Perez was able to take the children out-of-state, he discovered Perez’s license had been revoked–inimical to public safety– and took him into custody.

Court documents allege that the trooper found a plastic bag with cannabis in Perez’s pocket.

They further allege that when an adult arrived to pick the juveniles up, a teenager immediately handed the adult a bag of suspected cocaine and said Perez told her to hide it.

The bag field-tested positive for cocaine, court documents claim.
Perez was arraigned on 2nd-degree drug possession and driving after license cancellation charges Monday, June 3.