Man set to accept plea this month

A man charged with simultaneous possession of drugs and weapons is set to accept a negotiated plea during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal Division Monday, October 20.

Forty-four-year-old Jerry Strauss had earlier pled not guilty to the simultaneous possession charge as well as being a felon in possession of a weapon and possessing a quantity of suspected methamphetamine.

It was announced he would take the plea October 6.

Strauss, who lists an address along U.S. Highway 62/412 East, was arrested October 12 last year when a Mountain Home police officer ran the license plate on the white Ford F-150 pickup truck he was driving and the report indicted the vehicle had no current insurance.

The officer reported that the truck “suddenly” pulled into a driveway on East 1st Street. When the officer drove by, the truck pulled back onto the street.

The officer turned around and activated his emergency lights. The truck stopped at a residence next door.

The officer contacted Strauss and asked him to exit the truck and to stand in front of the officer’s patrol car.

In the probable cause affidavit, the officer noted that he had to instruct Strauss several times to stay where the officer could see him.

When the truck was searched, a 9-millimeter pistol was found under the driver’s seat and a clear bag containing a white crystalline substance field testing positive for methamphetamine was located near where Strauss had been sitting in the truck.

It is noted in the probable cause affidavit that Strauss had been convicted of several felonies in California, some involving violence.

Strauss is currently free on a $10,000 bond.

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