Richfield Police Orchestrate Drug Bust in Apple Valley

An Apple Valley man has been charged with selling cocaine from his home after helped orchestrate an undercover operation.

Casey William Snaza, 24, faces a felony charge of third-degree drug sales, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Richfield Police learned last spring that Snaza was selling cocaine in the south metro. The officer arranged a controlled buy in which an informant was given "buy money" and an electronic monitoring device.

The buy was set up for the week of April 4, 2011. Officers kept the informant under surveillance on the way to Snaza’s home and during the time the informant was there. According to the complaint, the informant bought 1.6 grams of cocaine from Snaza and turned it over to police.

On April 6, Snaza admitted to Police that he sold drugs—mostly marijuana, but also cocaine—about twice a week from his home to people whom he knows, the complaint said.

Shortly after his talk with Police, Snaza posted on Facebook April 15 that he was “trying to put the pieces of my life back together.”

Snaza is scheduled to make a first appearance on the charge Sept. 26 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.