When deputies arrested a man accused of stealing from a gas station, they found meth in his car.
Brett J. Laux, 28, Appleton, is charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, theft and felony bail jumping.
Shortly before midnight on Feb. 24, Waupaca County Sheriff’s deputies Brittany Mathewson and James Santiago investigated a theft complaint at East Side Mobil on Royalton Street in Waupaca.
Employees reported two men entered the store’s gambling room.
According to the criminal complaint, one of the men, later identified as Laux, picked a lock on a machine, while the other man appeared to position himself to block the view of a surveillance camera. However, video from the camera reportedly showed Laux opening the machine.
After the men left, employees checked the machine and its money box was empty. From the machine’s ticket count, an estimated $166 was missing.
The vehicle’s description and license plate number indicated it was registered to Laux.
Waupaca County Sgt. Kevin Studzinski stopped the vehicle a short time later on State Highway 54.
As he approached the vehicle, Studzinski observed Laux “digging in the center console,” the complaint says.
In an empty space under the gear shifter, Santiago found a green glass pipe, nearly half a gram of crystal meth and a white sock with 21 rounds of 40-caliber hollow-point ammo.
There were two passengers in Laux’s vehicle.
One passenger was the man identified as being with Laux at the gas station. As of Monday, March 5, he has not been charged.
The other passenger was Linsey D. Westphal, 18, Clintonville. Officers reported finding three vials of Narcan, gem packs and three syringes in her purse.
She has been charged with two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and released from custody on a $500 cash bond.
Laux remains in custody on a $3,000 cash bond.
In April 2017, Laux was charged with felon in possession of a firearm and four counts of failure to attach an ear tag to a deer carcass. He was released on a $2,000 signature bond. The case is still pending.