Northern Minnesota man to serve probation for crash that uncovered marijuana operation
Jamie Lee Hunt (Courtesy: Hubbard County Jail)
A Laporte, Minn. man was sentenced in Hubbard County Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty in connection with a crash that uncovered a residential marijuana operation.
Jamie Lee Hunt, 47, will serve two years of probation in connection with the crash. He received a stayed sentence of one year and one day.
Hunt also received a sentence of five days in Hubbard County Jail but had credit for five days already served.
Court records show Hunt was charged with one count of traffic collision and one count of fifth-degree drug possession in February 2023.
Hunt pleaded guilty in connection with the crash and marijuana operation in August, although the details of the plea are considered protected information, according to a spokesperson for the Hubbard County Attorney’s Office. Court records show the drug charge was dismissed.
On Feb. 18, 2023, deputies with the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a pickup truck versus snowmobile crash with injuries in front of the 25000 block of 460th Street around 2:20 a.m., according to a criminal complaint.
Upon arrival, law enforcement found a man lying on the road with “extensive injury” to his leg and it was determined the man needed immediate surgery. Officials learned that the crash occurred just outside of Hunt’s home and the call came from a phone associated with Hunt, the complaint states.
The complaint added that as deputies tried to locate Hunt at his home, they noticed several marijuana plants in the window and smelled the order of marijuana coming from the residence.
A search warrant was obtained and executed in order to go inside Hunt’s home; multiple large glass containers with marijuana were found in the main living room and around 80 marijuana plants were found in a homemade grow room.
Later in the morning on Feb. 18, deputies learned that officers with the Bemidji Police Department (BPD) had found Hunt and taken a statement from him, the complaint said.
Hunt told officers he feels guilty about the incident and that he should have stayed there.
RELATED: Laporte man accused of fleeing after serious crash, growing marijuana in home
Court records show Hunt was previously convicted of fifth-degree drug possession and second-degree controlled substance possession in 2006.