A Brown County man is facing up to 30 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of dealing methamphetamine.

The trial of Michael R. Voelz Jr., 56, of Brown County, lasted two days, and it took two hours for the jury to reach a unanimous verdict Aug. 31.

Voelz was a passenger in a vehicle that police stopped in March while they were on their way to a domestic disturbance call in the 200 block of Gatesville Road.

Upon seeing the police, the vehicle disengaged its turn signal into that home’s driveway and continued down Gatesville Road, a news release from Prosecutor Ted Adams said.

Deputy Austin Schonfeld started following the vehicle, and he said he saw Voelz, the only passenger, throw a black backpack out the passenger side window. Schonfeld stopped the vehicle for littering.

Deputy Andrew Eggebrecht recovered the bag. Inside, police reported finding more than 42 grams of methamphetamine, more than 216 grams of marijuana, a scale, a baggie and other paraphernalia.

Voelz and the driver, Dennis O’Hara, 47, of Brown County, were detained and later arrested.

While searching Voelz, deputies found more than $1,000 in small bills. Voelz claimed the money was for rent and later claimed it was vacation money, the release said.

A search warrant was obtained for Voelz’s DNA and his cellphone. The Indiana State Police Lab performed a DNA analysis on the twist-ties on the packages of methamphetamine and the analysis matched Voelz’s profile, police said.

A search of his cellphone yielded texts inferring narcotics deals, according to the news release and the police report.

Schonfeld reported that it “was apparent O’Hara had knowledge” of Voelz dealing in meth, based on the text messages. O’Hara had offered to buy one gram of meth for $90, the police report said.

O’Hara was arrested for maintaining a common nuisance by allowing his vehicle to be “unlawfully used for the transportation, sale, delivery or keeping of controlled substances,” the report said. His jury trial is scheduled for 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20.

Voelz also was convicted of dealing in marijuana, a Level 6 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.

“I am pleased to remove yet another dealer out of our community,” Adams said in a news release.

“Our community has experienced more than our fair share of struggles with narcotics. Mr. Voelz possessed the equivalent of over $4,000 in methamphetamine — clearly enough product to disrupt and ruin many lives in Brown County,” he said.

“I applaud the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and my staff. Law enforcement will continue to commit our best efforts in combating illegal narcotics in Brown County.”

Voelz was represented by public defender Daniel Reuter. His sentencing hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2.