Crime & Safety
Minnetonka Mother Accused of Buying Marijuana With Her Children
Hopkins police stopped the woman when they saw her driving quickly through town with her children not buckled in.
A Minnetonka woman is accused of buying marijuana with her 2-year-old and 4-year-old and then speeding through Hopkins, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Hopkins police noticed the woman at 8:05 p.m. Sept. 20 when they saw her SUV traveling quickly down the road, Officer Ian Flam wrote in the criminal complaint. The officer stopped the vehicle after noticing small children in the back seat who were not wearing seat belts.
The officer smelled marijuana as he approached the vehicle, according to the complaint. He identified the driver as 23-year-old Alyssa Marie Rausch, but she appeared nervous and wouldn’t make eye contact with the officer.
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The officer asked the passenger if there was marijuana in the vehicle. The passenger said there was and, upon request, handed over what was later determined to be 1.3 grams of marijuana, according to the court documents.
Rausch then admitted that she and the passenger had bought marijuana with her two children in the vehicle.
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Prosecutors have charged her with endangerment of a child—a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $3,000 fine.
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