PENNINGTON COUNTY, Minn. — A Red Lake Falls man was sentenced Tuesday, Nov. 25, to 65 months — or nearly five and a half years — for selling methamphetamine in Pennington County.

Nicholas Walter Johnson, 38, pleaded not guilty to felony first-degree sale of a controlled substance in November 2024, but was found guilty of the crime in October after a trial by jury.

He faced up to 30 years in prison for the crime, but state sentencing guidelines recommend between 56 and 150 months, depending on criminal history. His sentence with the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud is consistent with the low end of the guidelines.

Johnson was under investigation by the Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force in August 2023, because officers believed he was selling methamphetamine, according to a pr

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