FIFTH GUILTY PLEA ENTERED FOR MAJOR DRUG BUST

A fifth guilty plea has been entered for a major drug bust in southern Minnesota.  The Mankato Department of Public Safety and Agents of the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at a Mankato apartment April 20, 2024.  Court documents say just under 6,000 counterfeit pills were found and field tests confirmed the presence of fentanyl in the pills.  42-year-old Levone William Adams of Amboy has pleaded guilty to third-degree drug possession.  A sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 11 in Blue Earth County District Court.  Three Mankato residents and one from Eagle Lake have also been arrested.  31-year-old Howard Beacham has not yet entered a plea to charges of first-degree aggravated controlled substance crime and first-degree drug sales.