Woman Arrested on Prostitution, Drug Warrant

A Hopkins woman with a history of missing court hearings has been arrested on a warrant charging her with cocaine possession and prostitution in Burnsville.

Sharon Marie Knutson, 56, was charged in September 2010 with felony fifth-degree drug possession, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. 

She is also charged with engaging in prostitution, a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine; a misdemeanor charge of prostitution, which has a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a petty misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a $300 fine.

After Knutson missed an October 2010 court hearing on the charges, an arrest warrant was issued. She was arrested in December 2010 and in March 2011 pleaded not guilty; when she missed another hearing, authorities issued another warrant in March 2012, and she was arrested and jailed on April 23.

Knutson is being boarded by Dakota County in the Ramsey County workhouse and is being held on a $5,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in the case is scheduled May 15 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.

According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police were working a prostitution detail, and an officer was placing calls to people who had posted ads in “adult” or “escort” sections of various Internet sites.

The officer called a number listed in one of the ads and made arrangements for a woman – later identified as Knutson – to come to a motel in Burnsville, according to the complaint.

Knutson agreed to come to the motel, and the two agreed on a price of $250, the complaint charges.

When Knutson arrived, she asked the officer which bed he wanted to “do it in,” then went to the bathroom to get a towel, which she placed in the middle of the bed, according to the complaint.

The officer asked if he should put the money on a table; Knutson told him to give it directly to her, and after handing Knutson the cash, he gave an “arrest signal” and other officers entered the room and took her into custody, according to the complaint.

When police searched Knutson’s purse, they found a pipe commonly used for smoking crack cocaine, the complaint charges. The pipe was still warm to the touch and contained residue, police said. Officers also found a filter device for the crack pipe.

Police watching the motel saw Knutson smoking crack in a car in the parking lot before she came to the room, according to the complaint, which also says Knutson admitted to officers that she had smoked crack in the parking lot.

Knutson’s criminal record includes a conviction for third-degree drug possession in Florida in 2007.