A one-car accident Monday in the village of Caledonia led to three felony charges and one misdemeanor being filed Tuesday in Racine County Circuit Court against a 40-year-old Mount Pleasant man.
Dale W. Johnson is charged with felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and maintaining a drug-trafficking place, which each carry a fine of $10,000 and three years, six months in prison.
Johnson also is charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, which carries a fine of $500 and 30 days in county jail.
According to the criminal complaint: Police responded to Four Mile Road near Main Street at 3:45 p.m. Upon arrival, they observed Johnson spinning the tires of the vehicle, which was stuck in the ditch on the south side of the road.
No injuries were reported to Johnson or either of the two passengers. Police found a backpack next to the back-seat passenger, who stated it was his.
Johnson failed a series of field sobriety tests, and a preliminary breath test showed a blood alcohol content of 0.18, which led to his arrest for his first drunken driving offense.
During a search of the vehicle, an additional backpack was found, which police determined belonged to Johnson. Inside the backpack, police found drug paraphernalia items, along with several pills, 10.9 grams of marijuana and a partial bottle of vodka.
Included in the backpack was a silicone container that police believed was used to store butane honey oil. The complaint states police believed the items were being used to manufacture BHO and that Johnson was using his vehicle to store and manufacture the drugs.
Court records indicate that Johnson has previous drug offenses, including a felony, in the last five years. He made his initial court appearance Tuesday and is due back for a preliminary hearing Nov. 14 at 8:30 a.m.