RAYMOND – A speeding stop here last Saturday resulted in the apprehension of a Minneapolis man on drug charges after a vehicle search yielded 1.1 pounds of marijuana.
The Racine County District Attorney’s Office charged Pierre P. Joplin, 29, with possession of THC with intent to deliver/manufacture. Cash bond was set at $1,000 at an initial court appearance on Monday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 7, according to online court records.
According to the criminal complaint, a Racine County Sheriffs deputy clocked a 2004 silver BMW traveling at 103 mph on I-94/41. Before stopping the vehicle on the shoulder, the deputy observed the driver, later identified as Joplin, “making furtive movements.” A K9 unit was brought in to help search the vehicle.
The search revealed several empty marijuana packages “that appeared to be from a dispensary” in the center console armrest. Deputies also found a vacuum-style plastic bag in the vehicle’s rear wheel well, which required them to pry open a plastic panel. The bag contained 499 grams (approximately 1.1 lbs.) of a substance that tested positive for THC (marijuana). Joplin told deputies that the marijuana “must have been left in the vehicle by the previous owner,” according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.
Joplin was also accused of speeding, reckless driving and operating a vehicle while driving privileges are suspended. He was being held in the Racine County Jail.