A Minneapolis man is heading to prison for more than seven years after drugs, a loaded handgun, and a ballistic vest were found in his vehicle during a traffic stop near Detroit Lakes.
44-year-old Ryan Lee Schmidt was pulled over on Brandy Lake Road on October 25, 2024, for a faulty license plate light. Deputies suspected impairment and arrested him. A search of his vehicle uncovered a loaded Ruger handgun with a hollow-point round, over 17 grams of meth and cocaine hidden inside a Pringles can, and a ballistic vest rated to stop 9mm and .357 magnum bullets.
Schmidt, who has prior felony convictions for burglary and domestic assault, refused a urine test at the jail. On Jan. 30, Judge Michelle Lawson sentenced him to 88 months at St. Cloud prison, giving him credit for 96 days served…