Police Confiscate Marijuana from Burnsville Man's Home

A Burnsville man is facing felony drug charges after authorities say they discovered a marijuana-growing operation in his home and confiscated more than a pound of the drug.

Clint Robert Ritzer, 31, who lives in the 1500 block of East Burnsville Parkway, is charged with possession and manufacture of marijuana, both felonies which carry maximum penalties of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Ritzer also faces a petty misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to the criminal complaint against Ritzer, agents from the Dakota County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant March 15 at Ritzer’s home.

Agents knocked and announced themselves several times but got no answer, the complaint says. They attempted to use a key, but when it didn’t work, they forced the door open.

During their search of Ritzer’s home, agents found 12 glass jars and 10 plastic bags containing a green, leafy substance in a black box in the living room. More baggies and jars containing the same substance were found in a safe in the master bedroom closet, and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia was found throughout the house, according to the complaint.

The St. Paul Police Department’s crime laboratory conducted tests on the substance found in Ritzer’s home and determined that it was 552 grams, or more than a pound, of marijuana.

Ritzer has one previous drug-related conviction on his criminal record, for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in a motor vehicle in Hennepin County in 2001.