An Austin man stopped for expired tabs was carrying nine baggies of cocaine in a pouch around his shoulders and had a loaded handgun on the passenger seat of the pickup he was driving, according to a criminal complaint.
Anthony Lamarr Wadley, 43, faces felony counts of first-degree sale of cocaine while possessing a firearm, second-degree possession of cocaine while possessing a firearm and possessing a firearm as a person barred because of a past conviction for a crime of violence. He is also charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree DWI and a petty misdemeanor registration violation. The complaint was issued Oct. 5 in Mower County District Court, and bail was set at $500,000.
According to the complaint, a Mower County sheriff’s deputy stopped the pickup Wadley was driving at about 2:07 a.m. Oct. 3 near the 1000 block of 4th Street Southeast in Austin because its registration had expired in September. The deputy noticed that Wadley had bloodshot, watery eyes and smelled of alcohol. Wadley said he had had a “starburst drink,” failed field sobriety tests and was arrested after a preliminary breath test showed 0.09.
READ MORE → Mower County coverage
In a pouch around Wadley’s shoulders, the deputy found nine baggies of white powder that field-tested positive for cocaine, with a total weight of 11.36 grams, the complaint says. The baggies held different amounts, from about half a gram to 3.5 grams, which the complaint calls consistent with drug sales. Wadley had $499 in cash in his front pocket, mostly $50 bills bundled with a rubber band.
In a backpack on the front passenger seat, the deputy found a Glock 26 handgun with a loaded magazine, plus a second loaded magazine, according to the complaint. Two cellphones were seized from near the center console.
The complaint lists prior drug convictions from 2009 and 2014 in Mower County.
The first-degree drug count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both, according to the complaint.
