Prosecutors dismiss charges in Burleigh County fentanyl cases, leading to two very different outcomes (2024)

Two people charged in April withpossessing fentanylsaw charges dismissed Friday at the request of the Burleigh County State's Attorney's Office, but the results of those dismissals were very different.

A traffic stop resulted in Javonne Hunt and Angella Baumgartner both being charged with possession with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. Baumgartner was also charged with possession of meth. For both, a conviction on the felony charge related to fentanyl meant a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000. Baumgartner's meth charge, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum sentence of nearly a year in jail.

In Hunt's case, prosecutors sought to dismiss state charges in favor of impending federal prosecution, according to a motion filed by Assistant Burleigh County State's Attorney Dennis Ingold. Hismotion said the State's Attorney's Office was notified of a federal arrest warrant being issued on Friday and "dismissal of this (state) case serves well the interest of justice."

For Baumgartner, a court appearance Friday afternoon scheduled as a change of plea saw a dramatic turn when Assistant Burleigh County State's Attorney Isaac Lees told South Central District Judge James Hill thatprosecutors wanted to amend charges against Baumgartner. The amendment included dismissing the felony charge related to fentanyl possession, according to Lees.

"Further investigation shows it would be very difficult for the state to prove the allegation," Lees said of the fentanyl charge.

However, Lees said prosecutors intended to pursue the misdemeanor.

Defense attorney James Loraas told the judge that neither he nor Baumgartner was opposed to the state's motion.

"Well, there's nothing I can do but dismiss it," Hill said of the felony count.

Following that, Baumgartner, who's spent 106 days in custody since her arrest, entered a guilty plea to the misdemeanor and was given a sentence that amounts to the 106 days she's already served.

Lee recommended a sentence of 360 days in jail with credit for the 106 days already served, with the remainder suspended for 360 days of unsupervised probation. This recommendation was supported by Loraas, who informed Hill that since her arrest, Baumgartner has lost her home but has been accepted into a residential drug treatment facility in Minot, starting Monday.

Hill expressed some concern that his judgement might result in Baumgartner being released from jail with nowhere to stay through the weekend.

"I'm going to do what they want me to do," Hill said to Baumgartner in regard to attorneys sentencing recommendation. "But I want to make sure you're not going to be on the street."

Baumgartner told Hill she has family in Bismarck and can stay with them over the weekend before traveling to Minot on Monday.

"This will give me a chance to spend some time with my grandbabies," Baumgartner said.

What happened

Hunt and Baumgartner were stopped on Interstate 94 by a North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper for a traffic violation, according to an affidavit.Hunt was allegedly driving on a suspended driver's license and detained. Baumgartner was a passenger.

Additional officers arrived and a Burleigh County K-9 conducted a non-invasive search that resulted in the dog detecting the odor of narcotics, according to the affidavit. The detection led officers to search the vehicle, where officers uncovered a plastic bag of marijuana and a cracker box that contained 313 grams of suspected fentanyl pills with a street value of more than $90,000,the affidavit stated.

While the affidavit didn't disclose the exact number of pills, previous reporting in drug cases have shown similar pills routinely weigh a tenth of a gram each. This suggests that the seizure could have involved more than 3,000 pills, which Hunt and Baumgartner were alleged to have possessed.

Officers allegedly found approximately one-tenth of a gram of methamphetamine in Baumgartner's purse, leading to the misdemeanor charge.

While the State's Attorney's Office reported that a federal arrest warrant had been issued for Hunt, a review of federal court documents late Friday did not show that the warrant had been served. However, records from the Burleigh-Morton Detention Center indicated that Hunt is being held in connection with upcoming federal charges.