Cass County authorities will attempt to try a Grand Forks, N.D., boy as an adult for receiving a package of marijuana at Fargo's Airborne Express.
The 16-year-old has been in juvenile custody since being arrested Tuesday along with 28-year-old David T. Noye of Grand Forks after they allegedly picked up a package containing 22.5 pounds of compressed marijuana at the company's Hector International Airport shipping terminal, 3847 31st St. N.W.
Noye was arraigned Thursday morning on a felony charge of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to deliver; and a misdemeanor charge of possession of less than half an ounce of controlled substance while operating a motor vehicle.
Aaron Birst, assistant Cass County states attorney, said he plans to petition the juvenile court judge to have the 16-year-old prosecuted as an adult. No hearing in juvenile court has been set.
Birst said that, because of the quantity of marijuana involved, he wants to charge the juvenile with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class B felony.
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Noye, who is unemployed, was still being held late Thursday in the Cass County Jail with bail set at $25,000.
Cass County District Judge Norman Backes has set a preliminary hearing for Feb. 6 and a tentative trial date of April 22. Backes appointed Richard Edinger as Noye's attorney.
Mark Boening, assistant Cass County state's attorney, is prosecuting Noye for the state.
Fargo police and Cass County narcotics officers were called to Airborne Express Tuesday after employees noticed a green liquid, later determined to be shampoo, leaking from a package bound from Laredo, Texas, to Grafton, N.D.
The shampoo was apparently used to mask the smell of the drug.
After a caller said someone was coming to retrieve the package in Fargo, rather than having it delivered to Grafton, undercover officers set up a sting operation and arrested Noye and the juvenile when the package was retrieved.
Readers can reach Forum Business Editor Gerry Gilmour at (701) 241-5560
