A 23-year-old Hastings man is facing multiple felony drug charges following a late-night traffic stop in Inver Grove Heights that investigators say uncovered methamphetamine, hallucinogenic substances, drug paraphernalia and text messages suggesting possible drug sales.
Lucas Michael Peters, 23, has been charged in Dakota County District Court with two counts of second-degree controlled substance sale, one count of third-degree controlled substance possession and one count of fifth-degree controlled substance possession.
According to the criminal complaint, an Inver Grove Heights police officer was on routine patrol shortly before midnight Dec. 27, 2025, when he observed a vehicle parked at a hotel without front or rear license plates. A check of the vehicle identification number showed the vehicle had last been registered in California in 2012.
Approximately 20 minutes later, Peters returned to the vehicle and began to drive away, prompting the officer to initiate a traffic stop. Peters told the officer he had recently purchased the vehicle in Wisconsin and provided a title that had expired in 2022. A records check also showed Peters’ Minnesota driving privileges had been canceled at the time of the stop.
When Peters exited the vehicle, the officer observed two Minnesota license plates tucked between the driver’s seat and the center console. Peters told officers the plates belonged to a different vehicle. He also admitted there was a pipe inside the vehicle that he had used to smoke methamphetamine approximately six hours earlier.
Peters later gave officers permission to search the vehicle. During the search, officers located a container under a blanket on the back seat that held suspected methamphetamine. The substance later tested positive and weighed about 0.20 grams, according to court documents.
Officers also found a shoulder bag containing an electronic scale and numerous plastic bags of different sizes. Peters told officers the scale was used to weigh drugs when purchasing them, so he did not get “ripped off,” but he was unable to explain the variety of plastic bags in the bag.
At the bottom of the shoulder bag, officers located what they believed to be hallucinogenic mushrooms. Testing by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Appre¬hension confirmed the presence of methylenedioxymethamphetamine and psilocybin with a combined weight of approximately 17.8 grams.
Investigators also reported finding $643 in small denominations of cash in Peters’ wallet, which officers noted is consistent with drug sales activity.
A passenger in the vehicle was identified in court documents as V.R. Officers later obtained a search warrant for two phones seized during the stop. Messages recovered from the phones included communication referencing a request to “bump into” someone and needing a “whole one,” language officers stated is commonly used to describe a unit quantity of a controlled substance. Additional messages directed the contact to meet at a hotel room in Inver Grove Heights later that evening.
Authorities allege Peters replied to the message thread and later confirmed his arrival at the hotel room.
Court records indicate Peters told officers he had been at the hotel to meet and spend time with a friend he identified only as “V,” whom he said he had known for about six months but whose last name he did not know.
The charges filed against Peters stem from alleged incidents occurring between Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, 2025, in Inver Grove Heights. Prosecutors allege the second-degree controlled substance sale counts involve mixtures totaling 10 grams or more of MDMA or other hallucinogenic substances.
Each second-degree sale charge carries a potential maximum sentence of up to 25 years in prison and a substantial fine if convicted.
In a separate earlier Dakota County case, Peters had previously been charged with fifth-degree drug possession and third-degree driving while impaired after officers found him asleep behind the wheel at a Hastings intersection in February 2024. Authorities reported that 3.5 grams of methamphetamine were located in that vehicle and that Peters admitted using meth the night before.
In the current case, prosecutors have requested that bail conditions, if imposed, include that Peters remain law-abiding, abstain from alcohol and controlled substances, submit to random chemical testing and not leave Minnesota without court approval.
Peters is scheduled to make his first appearance in Dakota County District Court at 9 a.m. May 5 in a remote hearing before Judge Tracy Perzel.