Grand Forks jury finds Minneapolis man not guilty of drug trafficking
Oct. 12—GRAND FORKS — A Minneapolis man was found not guilty of possession with intent to manufacture or deliver various illicit drugs on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
During the second and final day of his trial, John Jerad Harniss, 33, testified he had a history of drug abuse and had been using fentanyl for about eight months at the time of his arrest. He said he would take at least five pills a day "to not get sick," but also used buprenorphine as he attempted to quit because it is known to alleviate withdrawal symptoms. Harniss could not get a prescription for suboxone because he did not have medical insurance.
Less than a month before Harniss's arrest, he had spent a week in rehab for his addiction.
"I had to leave because I needed to work," Harniss said. "I make good money at the jobs, but they're not guaranteed."
Prior to Harniss's arrest, he started his own construction business in Minneapolis. In a previous statement, he told police business was "slow" in comparison to his position as a union construction worker in Washington.
Harniss told the jury he went to Devils Lake for the memorial of his ex-girlfriend's brother and also met up with some friends who provided him with the vast majority of the drugs found in Harniss's possession that day. He testified that he only brought seven suboxone pills to North Dakota and obtained the remainder of the drugs while he was there. Harniss's friends had traveled from Washington, where he was originally from; he moved to Minneapolis about four months prior to his arrest.
Harniss's friends also brought almost a pound of marijuana from Washington, where the drug is legal for medicinal and recreational use. He said it was more than he would usually get, but didn't know when he'd be able to get the same deal again.
Harniss said he only got 10 fentanyl pills at the time because he needed to get through his current construction job before trying to get clean.
"You can't withdraw and work at the same time," Harniss said.
Harniss also testified that he offered to give the police his phone passcode, if "they could assure me none of my friends would be prosecuted," Harniss said. That condition was not accepted, so Harniss removed his offer, and police were unable to get any data from the phone.
During Harniss's testimony, his attorney, Samuel Gereszek, asked how he can prove he's not a drug dealer. Harniss said he can't necessarily prove he's not a dealer, but pointed to the lack of money found on him or anyone coming forward to say he sold drugs to them.
He also mentioned the lack of prior run-ins with police for drug crimes. Harniss has one previous felony drug charge for possession of methamphetamine, which he was convicted of about seven years ago when he still lived in Washington.
In the state's closing statement, Megan Jo Kvasager Essig reiterated that Harniss would have been able to make a significantly larger amount of money by selling fentanyl in Devils Lake than he would in Minneapolis. Multiple officers testified many drug dealers travel to smaller communities such as Devils Lake to sell their drugs because the value is substantially higher.
In the defense's closing statement, Gereszek said Harniss would be the "dumbest drug dealer" if he was found leaving the Devils Lake area with drugs that would have made him a significant amount of money there.
The jury found Harniss not guilty of possessing fentanyl, buprenorphine and marijuana with the intent to manufacture or deliver.
On the lesser included charges of possessing fentanyl, buprenorphine and marijuana Harniss was found guilty. The fentanyl and buprenorphine possession charges are class C felonies, while the marijuana charge is a misdemeanor.
Harniss was also found guilty of drug paraphernalia possession, driving under suspension or revocation and fraudulent practices in urine testing. He was found not guilty of illegally carrying a concealed weapon.
Judge Jason McCarthy sentenced Harniss following the jury's verdicts. Harniss was sentenced to five years with all but 262 days suspended (the amount of time he has spent in jail since his arrest).
