Fraud Report Leads to Drug and Illegal Weapon Possession Charges in Inver Grove Heights
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA - Officers with the Inver Grove Heights Police Department responding to a report of debit card fraud uncovered amphetamines and illegal weapons at an area hotel. According to the criminal complaint, officers were dispatched to the hotel on Wednesday morning, December 27, 2023. Employees informed them that 37-year-old Ryan Coleman had used the card to rent a room. Officers were unable to make contact with Coleman at that time.
Later that morning, police received another call concerning card fraud at the same establishment. The criminal complaint states that the second room was across the hall from the first, and hotel staff thought the same individual rented both rooms. Police were on-site when a man entered one of the rooms. The man identified himself as Ryan Coleman but denied participating in the alleged card fraud.
According to the criminal complaint, officers found two pistols and 75 counterfeit pills in Coleman’s room. Additional counterfeit pills that contained a powdered substance and a debit card in someone else’s name were found on Coleman’s person. The pills and powdered substance both tested positive for amphetamine, with around 36.3 grams of amphetamine confiscated.
Ryan Coleman is charged with Felony 2nd Degree Possession of a Controlled Substance and Gross Misdemeanor Possession of Firearm or Ammunition by an Ineligible Person. The drug possession charge comes with a 0 to 25-year sentence and/or a $150,000 to $500,000 fine. The firearm possession charge includes a 0 to 1-year sentence and/or a $900 to $3,000 fine.
Police found nothing more relevant to Coleman's case in the hotel room across the hall.
