Austin man faces drug charges after traffic stop

Published 6:33 am Thursday, March 11, 2010

An Austin man faces three felony charges after police allegedly turned up drugs and a prohibited weapon during an early Saturday traffic stop.

Jared Thomas Freese, 28, was charged Tuesday with third-and fifth-degree drug possession, as well as illegally possessing a stun gun. In custody on $100,000 bail, or $50,000 with court conditions, Freese is scheduled for arraignment March 18.

According to a criminal complaint, Freese was pulled over at around 1 a.m. on Saturday when an officer noticed he did not have a front license plate. Freese told the officer he knew the plate was missing, claiming he had just purchased the car and was in the process of transferring the title.

Email newsletter signup

While speaking with Freese, the officer noticed what was later determined to be a Taser on the dashboard. Given his two previous felony drug convictions, it is illegal for Freese to have such a weapon.

Eventually, Freese was asked to step out of the vehicle, and the Taser and a baseball bat on the vehicle’s floor were both secured for officer safety, the complaint states. While being removed from the vehicle, Freese was uncooperative and the officer had to forcibly handcuff him.

Freese was patted down and the officer found a little more than 0.7 grams of methamphetamine in his coat pocket, the complaint states. Several meth pipes were also found in the vehicle’s door.

A passenger, 29-year-old Philip Jason Anderson, of Austin, was also asked to step out of the vehicle. Upon doing so, an open beer bottle fell to the ground, and Anderson admitted he had been drinking while in the car. He was patted down and also had meth pipes and trace amounts of the drug in his pocket, the complaint states. Anderson was charged with a single fifth-degree drug possession count Tuesday.

A third male passenger, 26, was patted down and allowed to go home.

The two other passengers were taken to jail and the vehicle was more thoroughly searched. Inside, officers found additional drug paraphernalia, including a digital scale that had a small amount of marijuana on it.

Police also found a large collection of electronic equipment, including laptops and cell phones, as well as a backpack that contained nearly 5 grams of cocaine.

Freese has a lengthy criminal history, including felony drug convictions in 2001 and 2005, an assault conviction in 2003, and several other traffic violations.