MANKATO — A North Mankato man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to a reduced drug charge stemming from a 2024 fentanyl trafficking investigation by the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force.
Lincoln Alan Benzkofer, 32, was convicted on June 22 in Blue Earth County District Court on one count of third-degree drug sale and a charge of first-degree aiding and abetting drug possession was dismissed as part of the case.
Benzkofer was sentenced to just under three years at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud, but the sentence was stayed for four years. He was also sentenced to about five months in the Blue Earth County Jail, with credit for time already served satisfying the jail term. Benzkofer was placed on probation for four years under the supervision of the county.
The conviction stems from the task force’s investigation into the sale and distribution of fentanyl and other narcotics in the Mankato area. Investigators identified 27-year-old Daceion Curtis Romello of Roseville as a suspected drug dealer and, on Sept. 9, obtained a warrant to track a vehicle he had been using.
The vehicle was monitored as it traveled to several locations in the Minneapolis area before returning to Blue Earth County. Investigators reported seeing Benzkofer outside a residence linked to him before he entered the vehicle.
During a traffic stop, investigators reportedly recovered about 20 grams of suspected cocaine that fell from Romello’s clothing, along with $810 in cash. A search of the vehicle also uncovered a scale and roughly 30 grams of suspected fentanyl hidden beneath the front passenger floorboard.
According to court records, Benzkofer told investigators Romello sold fentanyl to him and others in the area, and he had been picked up to purchase the drug.