Ladonte Chester Bryant, 29, Minot, is charged in district court in Minot with Class B felony possession with intent to deliver counterfeit pills that look like oxycodone hydrochloride but are suspected to actually contain the far more potent and lethal fentanyl, Class B felony intent to deliver marijuana, two counts of Class C felony felon in possession of a firearm, and Class A misdemeanor possession of a Schedule II stimulant on Tuesday.

He was scheduled to make an initial appearance on the charges before Judge Gary Lee on Wednesday.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, an officer from the Ward County Narcotics Task Force and Bryant’s probation officer went to Bryant’s residence at 1209 32nd Avenue SW, No. 3, on Tuesday. Bryant smelled strongly of marijuana and said he doesn’t sell the marijuana but gives it to his friends. The officers searched Bryant’s residence. Among the items they found were seven dark blue and green pills that were marked as though they were oxycodone hydrochloride but which appeared to authorities as though they might be counterfeit and might actually contain fentanyl. Fentanyl has been implicated in a number of drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths this year in the Minot area.

Authorities also found large amounts of marijuana in small, marked plastic baggies in different locations and two firearms and additional ammunition. Bryant is not permitted to possess firearms because he has prior violent felony convictions.