FARGO-Talk about the wrong room.
A desk clerk's mistaken assignment of the same room to two sets of guests led to a drug bust here New Year's weekend when police allegedly discovered one couple had holed up in the room with illegal drugs and a sizable wad of cash.
That's according to court documents filed Monday in Cass County District Court accusing Nikki Rae Skoog, 43, of Cogsdale and Shawn Elroy Stelling, 54, of LaMoure of felony theft and drug possession charges connected with the Jan. 2 incident prompted by a booking snafu at the South Fargo Super 8 at 3518 Interstate Boulevard.
Police were summoned to the motel shortly after 3 a.m. by hotel guest Matthew Page, who court documents say was in town for a darts tournament.
When he'd returned to Room 201 after getting a bite to eat at the nearby Perkins, Page was surprised to discover his room key no longer worked.
ADVERTISEMENT
Enlisting the help of the motel desk clerk, the two men got into the deadbolted room and came upon Skoog and Stelling in bed.
It appeared the clerk had booked the couple into Room 102, but then mistakenly directed them to Room 201, not realizing it was already occupied, court records say.
Police arrived on the scene to find the couple still inside the room, with Page outside it insisting it was his. Page said his blue bag was missing from the scene.
Skoog and Stelling gave police permission to search the room and their vehicle, telling police they'd seen no bag in the room, court documents say.
In the search, police reportedly discovered 6 grams of marijuana. They also found several bottles of prescription pills, including one pill that Stelling identified as morphine and a baggie of methamphetamine, six needles, other items of drug paraphernalia and about $1,100 in mostly $50 and $100 denominations, police allege in court records.
In the trunk of Stelling's car, police also allegedly found Page's pants and toiletry bag.
Stelling admitted to police the drugs were his and claimed he took them to deal with the pressure of caring for his elderly mother, as well as his own underlying medical condition, court records say.
Stelling and Skoog are both charged with Class C felony possession of a controlled substance, Stelling with two counts. They also face misdemeanor charges for drug paraphernalia and theft, and Stelling faces an additional charge of drug paraphernalia possession as a Class C felony.
ADVERTISEMENT
Their next court appearances are set for Feb. 10.
