Rochester man Darnell Brown charged with half‑pound fentanyl possession

Fifty‑two‑year‑old Darnell Brown of Rochester, Minnesota was arraigned in Olmsted County Court on first‑degree drug‑sales and first‑degree drug‑possession charges. Police said a search warrant executed in September uncovered a bag containing more than 273 grams of fentanyl in the garage of a residence on 8 ½ Street Southeast, and laboratory testing linked Brown’s DNA to the bag.

Investigators obtained the warrant after monitoring Brown’s phone conversations while he was detained in the Olmsted County jail last July. The complaint alleges Brown directed an associate to retrieve the contraband from his southeast Rochester apartment out of fear of further raids. Brown was released without bail and is scheduled for an evidentiary hearing next month. He previously served a 67‑month sentence after a 2018 conviction for second‑degree heroin sales.