By Lori EhdeLuverne’s Gregory Stratton was ordered to serve nearly five years in prison when he appeared before Judge Timothy Connell in a sentence hearing Tuesday in Rock County District Court.Stratton, 18, was found guilty of second degree controlled substance crime after he was caught on video tape selling methamphetamines to an undercover officer last fall.He was one of four others arrested just before Thanksgiving when a two-month investigation involving the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension wrapped up.Specifically, Stratton was charged with selling a total of 21 grams of meth on Nov. 2 and Nov. 5 in video-taped exchanges in a local hotel room.He was arrested Nov. 26 along with 40-year-old Gregory Wade, 36-year-old Tony Tate, 48-year-old Oliver Crawford and 18-year-old Noi Chitmany. Dustin Kruger, 19, was arrested Nov. 28, for a lesser, but related drug charge.According to Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt, the arrests have made a noticeable difference in the local meth market."I think law enforcement took out some of the most significant dealers in town," he said Tuesday. "But obviously there are others and more will replace them."Rock County Investigator Jeff Wieneke said the absence of these drug dealers has had a positive impact on the community."So far, we can tell it’s made a difference. There have been others, and we’ve been making more arrests, but the break-ins and everything has gone down," Wieneke said."The word we get on the street is that the amount of drugs coming into Luverne has decreased."According to the sentence order filed Tuesday in Rock County District Court, Stratton has to serve 38 2/3 months of his 58 month sentence in prison. The remaining 19 1/3 months of the sentence can be served on supervised release.He had to pay a $50 criminal assessment (to be taken from prison earnings) and provide a DNA sample.He was also ordered to make restitution in the amount of $1,860, also to be paid from prison earnings.He went immediately to St. Cloud State Penitentiary after his Tuesday sentencing.So far, Stratton is the second in the group to be sentenced.Chitmany, who was 17 when she was arrested, was sentenced April 7 through the "extended juvenile jurisdiction." If she completes her juvenile sentence and doesn’t violate any probation orders, she will have satisfied the conditions of her sentence. If she doesn’t, she will be treated as an adult and ordered to serve 48 months in prison.Wade is scheduled to appear Monday, April 28, for a combined plea and sentence hearing. He is currently in custody of the Nobles County Jail, Worthington. His bail was set at $50,000.Tate appeared for a pre-trial conference Wednesday. His two-day jury trial is set for April 30 and May 1. He remains in custody of the Nobles County Jail. His bail was set at $35,000.Kruger, who was charged with aiding and abetting a controlled substance crime, (for driving Stratton to and from what he knew to be a drug deal) is scheduled to appear in Rock County District Court May 5 for a combined plea and sentence hearing.Crawford has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. He is already in prison serving time for his role in the Dec. 21, 2001, Harvey’s Trading Post burglary.
