On Monday, Sept. 25, the Minnesota State Court of Appeals upheld the 2014 Morrison County conviction of Edward Lapenotiere for a controlled substance Crime in the Second Degree (Selling Narcotics in a School Zone). Lapenotiere was found guilty as charged after a two-day jury trial in October, 2014. Lapenotiere was sentenced to serve 78 months in prison for the second degree school zone offense.
The case stemmed from an August, 2013 controlled buy of Vicodin and heroin conducted by the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office. The buy was made at Lapenotiere’s residence located within one city block of Lindbergh Elementary and Community Middle School properties.
Lapenotiere appealed his conviction claiming that the evidence was insufficient to prove that his residence was within one city block of the school property, arguing that only sales directly across the street from the school could be considered “school zones.”
The Court of Appeals ruled that the law defined a school zone as “the area surrounding the school property to a distance of 300 feet or one city block, whichever distance is greater.”
The appellate court concluded that “By using the word ‘surround,’ the legislature indicated its intent to establish a drug-free perimeter extending at least one city block beyond the school property in all directions.” The court ruled that the state’s evidence at trial was sufficient to prove that “Lapenotiere’s home is both within the one-block distance measurement from the school property and within the city block area measurement.”
Assistant Morrison County Attorney Mike Chisum handled the prosecution of the case from the first court appearance through the jury trial. County Attorney Brian Middendorf handled the appeal for the County Attorney’s office.
“This is a big win. My fear with this appeal is that it had the potential to weaken the State’s buffer law that shields Minnesota’s schools from drug dealers by enhancing penalties for selling narcotics in a school zone,” said Middendorf. “Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Selling narcotics in our community is bad enough, but selling narcotics in a school zone is beyond contempt. We simply cannot tolerate the sale of drugs anywhere near a school in our community. Parents should never have to worry that there is a drug house next to their child’s school.”