Burnsville Man Facing Felony Drug Charges

A Burnsville man has been charged with illegally possessing morphine, heroin, methadone and cocaine after he was arrested in September for shoplifting.

Richard Scott Anderson, 25, faces four felony counts of fifth-degree drug possession, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He is also charged with theft, a misdemeanor, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a petty misdemeanor.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to an Eagan store on Sept. 28 on a report of a shoplifter in custody. 

Store employees told police that Anderson had been detained when he tried to leave the store with six DVDs hidden in his clothes. The total amount of the stolen merchandise was about $65, according to the complaint.

An officer said he became suspicious that Anderson was under the influence of drugs because he was “sweating profusely and rocking back and forth in his chair,” the complaint says.

A subsequent search of Anderson’s car – which was parked in the store parking lot, although Anderson’s driver’s license had been revoked – turned up a variety of drug paraphernalia, according to the complaint.

Anderson admitted to police that he had had a gambling and drug problem for several years, and said he stole the DVDs to get money to buy cigarettes and “to get something for later,” the complaint says.

Subsequent tests of the paraphernalia found in Anderson’s car found traces of morphine, methadone, heroin and cocaine.