Man gets 20 years probation for having meth in a car

Published 2:43 pm Saturday, July 3, 2010

A 26-year-old Austin man who was caught with drugs in a vehicle was sentenced Friday to 20 years of probation.

If Joseph Troy Cunningham violates the terms of his probation, he will spend 33 months in prison.

Another Austin man, 36-year-old Chad Lee Morgan, was also charged in connection with the case. He was sentenced last month to 30 days in the Mower County jail.

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According to a criminal complaint, the men were pulled over on the evening of Feb. 26 for illegally tinted windows. The officer also recognized Cunningham as being in violation of his current probation.

When the officer approached the vehicle, he smelled a marijuana odor coming from inside. Morgan, who was driving, also told the cop that he didn’t have a valid license, the complaint states.

The officer checked Morgan’s driving status and noticed it was canceled. The two were both asked to exit the vehicle.

On Morgan, the officer found 9 grams of pot. While searching Cunningham, he found 8 grams of meth, as well as drug paraphernalia. Both men were arrested and taken to jail.

After the arrest, the car was searched and officers located more trace amounts of meth, as well as a digital scale and a cell phone, the complaint states.

According to records, Morgan had recently been released from six years in prison for a previous drug crime.