About 120 miles southwest of Minneapolis sits Winnebago, Minnesota, a small city with a population just shy of 1,400 people. While the city doesn’t typically see much mainstream attention, Winnebago has found itself in the national spotlight after its mayor and his son were arrested and charged with illegal cannabis cultivation.
Mayor Scott James Robertson and his son Jacob Jon Robertson were arrested on Feb. 8 after a drug raid at three properties, where authorities found approximately 240 plants between multiple commercial-grade greenhouses, the Fairmont Sentinel reports. The plants were found and seized at 15/17 Main Street, 522 1st Ave. S.W. and 18195 340th Ave., according to the South Central Drug Investigative Unit.
Minnesota has legalized adult-use cannabis, and those ages 21 and older are permitted to grow up to eight total plants, with a maximum of four flowering plants, per household.
Court documents show that multiple law enforcement agencies had launched a cooperative investigation into the grow sites in January 2023 following an anonymous tip to the South Central Drug Investigative Unit that greenhouses in the city were being used to grow illegal cannabis plants.
Agent Briar Bonin investigated the tip, reaching out to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and discovering that the property owners including the Robertsons had operated a licensed and regulated hemp cultivating operation through the MDA, though it had not registered hemp crops in 2023.
Bonin asked for the MDA to perform a site inspection and test plants, though the MDA informed him these inspections require advance notice. Bonin later learned through witness testimony that Robertson had allegedly backed an enclosed trailer onto one of the properties to remove growing plants from the greenhouses at the property.
An MDA inspection from February 2023 subsequently found no crops growing inside.
Flash forward to this January: Bonin receives a report of a strong, unburnt cannabis odor from Faribault Chief Deputy Scott Adams around 15/17 Main St. Bonin contacted the MDA and found that Scott Robertson’s hemp license had expired in 2023 without renewal. The Robertsons also hadn’t registered a hemp crop since 2021.
After issuing a subpoena to BENCO Electric, records reportedly showed patterns suggesting active cultivation of a large number of plants through January at the Main Street and 340th Avenue properties.
Bonin was granted search warrants for cannabis plants at the properties and executed them with the help of other task force agents and Faribault County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
The Main Street properties reportedly had 55 plants consistent in appearance with cannabis plants and tested positive for a THC concentration greater than 0.3% At the 340th Avenue address, authorities reportedly discovered an additional 185 plants along with a five-gallon bucket of what appeared to be cannabis seeds.
A separate search warrant for 522 1st Ave. SW in Winnebago also resulted in documentation from the company elev.8, a cannabis seed supplier, with many of the strains and plant names in pamphlets matching the labels found in 15/17 S. Main St.
According to the complaint via Fox 9, Scott Robertson admitted to growing 200 plants at the greenhouse, and both he and his son claimed they were the only ones involved in the operation. Both were also reportedly out of jail as of Sunday, Feb. 11.
Robertson was in the second year of a two-year term as the Winnebago mayor after winning a write-in vote in 2021. His term is set to expire at the end of the year.
A pretrial hearing for 1 p.m. on March 25 is set for Jacob Robertson, while an initial appearance for Scott Robertson is set for 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 16.
