Randy Furst, Staff Writer
Copyright 2005 Star Tribune
All Rights Reserved
The wife of a Robbinsdale police officer and her two sons have been arrested and charged with possessing methamphetamine after law enforcement officers saw them leaving a house in Andover that officers were about to search.
The two sons are in jail awaiting a Jan. 4 court appearance, and the mother, Pamela Wredberg, has been sent to an inpatient treatment center with her next court appearance Feb. 15, said the Anoka County attorney’s office.
The three family members, all listing the same Ramsey address as their residence, were arrested Dec. 6.
Savage said that Wredberg’s husband, Ray Wredberg, a Robbinsdale police officer, was not involved in the alleged drug use.
However, the three family members were driving a Ford Excursion, and members of the Anoka Hennepin drug task force, who made the arrests, said they found a loaded handgun in a duty holster along with a stun gun in the vehicle.
Pamela Wredberg told arresting officers that her husband was a Robbinsdale police officer, according to court documents.
After learning of the arrests, Robbinsdale Police Chief Wayne Shellum said he questioned his officer. Shellum reported that Wredberg said he had not suspected that his family was involved in drug abuse.
Shellum said the officer told him he came home from work, left the semiautomatic handgun in his vehicle, and when he left the house, the vehicle was gone.
Shellum said that leaving the loaded gun in the car “may be interpreted as exercising poor judgment, but it is not a violation of policy, because we don’t have a policy that says what you do with your weapon when you are off duty.”
Shellum said officer Wredberg joined the force in 1989. Shellum said officer Wredberg had no citizen complaints filed against him.
“He is a good, steady, reliable above-average police officer,” Shellum said.
According to the court documents, the drug task force was about to search a residence in the 3900 block of 139th Lane NW. in Andover at about 7:15 p.m., when they saw the Ford Excursion arrive. Two men got out and entered the residence while the female driver waited in the vehicle.
After being in the residence for fewer than 5 minutes, the two men left.
A detective followed the vehicle, which made a turn without a turn signal and crossed the center line several times.
The vehicle was stopped, and authorities found an about 1 gram of methamphetamine on Justin Schaden, 24, an undisclosed amount of methamphetamine on Noel Virkus, 21, and a small plastic bag of methamphetamine in the pocket of Pamela Wredberg, 46. If convicted, all three could face from three to five years in prison and fines of $3,000 to $10,000, according to the court documents.
Bail for Virkus was set at $5,000 and for Schaden at $50,000, while Pamela Wredberg was sent to a treatment center in Arizona, the documents show.
Anoka County Sheriff’s Capt. Robert Aldrich said that law enforcement closed 39 meth labs in the county in 2002, 36 in 2003, 33 in 2004 and somewhat fewer labs this year. There have been 475-meth related arrests in the county in 2002, 605 in 2003 and 608 in 2004. Aldrich said there will probably be about 700 meth-related arrests in the county this year.
In addition, he said, “There is all sorts of crime related to meth use or habits.”
Randy Furst - 612-673-7382
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December 23, 2005