Three arrested on crack charges

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Sept. 1, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

Agents of the Paul Bunyan Narcotics Task Force Monday arrested in Bemidji three people for possession of about 20 grams of crack cocaine.

Lance Lee Ten Bear, 18, of Bemidji, Ramon Henry Applebee, 21, of Minneapolis, and a 16-year-old male also from Minneapolis all were arrested for felony possession with intent to sell.

The three were apprehended when the task force and the Headwaters Emergency Response Team executed a search warrant at an apartment located at 1300 America Ave. N.W.

The officers seized about 20 grams of crack cocaine, three handguns and more than $1,600 in cash.

"This was described to us as a ball of crack cocaine as big as a softball," Bemidji Police Chief Bob Tell said. "They were in the process of cutting it up and packaging it (when we executed the search warrant)."

Tell said the crack had a street value of about $4,000.

Formal charges are pending with the Beltrami County Attorney's office.

Chief Tell said the investigation was the result of an informant's tip. He added he believes the three were the extent of the crack operation locally, but the task force was unable to trace from whom the suspects purchased the drug in the Twin Cities.

He said the drug bust isn't the biggest recorded in the city or even in the county, but this one is unique because most big busts involve marijuana.

Tell said the task force makes from six to 10 cocaine-related busts a year. The task force's most recent cocaine bust was about three months ago in Thief River Falls.

Cocaine is a crystal-lined alkaloid obtained from dried coca leaves. Crack cocaine is a hard, pebble-like piece of highly purified cocaine prepared for smoking, and it is highly addictive.