Northfield Man Gets Probation for Marijuana Possession

A Northfield man received 18 months of probation on Friday after police found nearly 16 grams of marijuana in his vehicle during a routine stop in March.

Samuel Daniel Pettet, 32, was pulled over March 8 by Northfield Police because the tint on his vehicle's windows were too dark, according to the criminal complaint filed in Rice County District Court. In the backseat was an infant child, the complaint said, and the vehicle smelled of marijuana.

Judge Christine A. Long stayed adjudication, which means if Pettet follows all the conditions of his probation, the felony charge of intent to sell will be dropped.

Conditions of his probation include no use of alcohol or drugs, not entering a bar or liquor store and submit to chemical testing.

Pettet pleaded guilty to the charge in May, dropping two lesser charges of illegal tint and drug possession.

According to the complaint, police found the following in the vehicle: two used marijuana cigarettes in the ashtray, a small bag of a leafy substance that tested positive for marijuana, marijuana residue throughout the vehicle, several plastic bags with marijuana residue in them, a digital scale, a mason jar with 8.8 grams of marijuana in it, another bag with 5.3 grams of marijuana, a lock pick set, an extendable baton, a crow bar and a large butcher knife. Pettet told police the last four items were related to his employment, the charges said.

Pettet told police that someone else had used the car earlier in that week and that marijuana was likely theirs, but later admitted that marijuana was his, according to the complaint.

In 2007, he was convicted of a misdemeanor drug charge.