After a two-day trial, a local jury found a Minnesota man guilty of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony.
Craig Lenahan, 45, was driving slowly near the west entrance of the Brown County State Park around 4:30 a.m. June 15 last year when Brown County sheriff’s deputies Colton Magner and Andrew Eggebrecht noticed him.
The deputies testified to seeing Lenahan try and conceal himself, which drew their attention to him, according to a press release from Prosecutor Ted Adams.
Magner and Eggebrecht followed Lenahan. He turned into the former Abbey Inn parking lot before quickly leaving again, the release states.
Eggebrecht testified to following Lenahan to the Speedway gas station in Nashville where Lenahan exited the vehicle, looked around and then re-positioned his vehicle since he had pulled up to the pump on the wrong side of his gas tank. When Lenahan left the pump, Eggebrecht reported that he forgot to remove the gas nozzle, which clattered to the ground, the release states.
Lenahan then pulled into the Brown County Inn parking lot and Eggebrecht followed so he could speak with him about his suspicious behavior.
When the two deputies arrived, Lenahan was not in the vehicle. They reported finding an unconscious woman — 23-year-old Asia Urrea — in the backseat. The deputies attempted to wake her up to check on her welfare before going to search for Lenahan.
They found him on the south side of the hotel’s property. It was 4:45 a.m., and Lenahan told officers he was looking at the Brown County Inn for a potential large wedding he was planning, according to the press release.
While speaking with Lenahan, Nashville Police Officer Keith Lawson radioed in that he had found a methamphetamine pipe on the driver’s seat. Lenahan was then taken into custody.
The deputies also learned that the license plate that was at first on the vehicle had been removed while at the Brown County Inn, and that license plate had been reported stolen.
In the vehicle, officers found almost five grams of meth in the driver’s side door pocket, as well as a meth pipe. Several syringes, including one with methamphetamine inside, were found in Urrea’s backpack.
Urrea was arrested for possessing the syringes. Urrea has failed to appear in court for her charges and is now considered a fugitive. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, Adams said.
Lenahan was charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; conversion, a Class A misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
Lenahan’s attorney, Greg Bowes, argued that the meth belonged to Urrea.
Adams argued that Lenahan’s actions coupled with other circumstances demonstrated that he knew the meth was in the vehicle he was driving.
The jury acquitted Lenahan on the conversion charge for the stolen license plate and the possession of paraphernalia charge for the meth pipe.
“I did not care about the license plate charge, and I told the jury I didn’t care. I was not going to pay to have a witness from Minnesota travel down to Brown County over a $10 government-issued license plate. I care about the felony charge,” Adams said.
Adams requested that Lenahan be remanded into custody at the Brown County jail due to his lack of community ties and criminal history. Judge Mary Wertz granted that request.
Adams said that Eggebrecht and Magner used their training and instinct to make the arrests. “They witnessed suspicious behavior and reacted appropriately. They did not immediately pull the individual over for no reason; they remained patient and observed. Lo and behold, their suspicions were validated, and they removed a significant amount of methamphetamine out of our community,” Adams said.
“This was a model of community policing. This is precisely what I encourage our officers to do and what we as a community look for in our local policing efforts.”
Lenahan will be sentenced at 10 a.m. Friday, June 14.
