A man who has been arrested twice this year on drug-related charges appeared during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal Division July 7.
Twenty-seven-year-old Dustin Magneson who lists an address along Buford Spur entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in his latest case and was ordered to reappear July 21.
He was first arrested in late January and then again in mid-March.
The first arrest was made after Mountain Home police were called to the midtown McDonalds to check out a male who appeared to be asleep while parked in the drive-thru lane at the restaurant. When police arrived, the car had moved from the drive-thru to a parking space. Officers located the vehicle and Magneson.
When police approached the vehicle, they saw a male slumped over in the driver’s seat The keys were in the ignition and the engine was running. Police knocked on the window and Magneson woke up, rolled down the window and spoke to police.
Magneson initially told police he was picking up food for his wife. Police reported his speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot and watery. Magneson told police he had taken a Xanax that morning. He was asked to step out of the vehicle but is reported to have had problems keeping his balance. One of the officers noticed a burned piece of tin foil on the center console of the vehicle. Magneson said the substance ingested using the tin foil had been suboxone for which he had no prescription.
Several different drugs were found in a green bag. A black substance that was tested showed positive for heroin.
Magneson said he did not want to answer questions without a lawyer present and he refused to take several routine tests administered to those suspected of driving under the influence.
Magneson was found to have a number of drugs in his possession, including hydrocodone, oxycodone, heroin, lorazepam and alprazolam. He was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
He entered a not guilty plea to charges in the initial case during an earlier session of court.
The second arrest came on March 15 when a Mountain Home police officer saw a vehicle fail to use signals when turning into South Church Street. The officer activated the emergency lights on his patrol car and the stop was made at the former On-The-Run convenience store at College and Ninth Streets.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the officer noticed the strong smell of burnt marijuana and also saw smoke coming from inside the vehicle.
Magneson had a medical marijuana card in his possession but that does not convey the right to smoke the substance when driving. The prohibition also extends to passengers in the vehicle.
A drug dog was brought to the scene and alerted on the driver’s side door – indicating the possible presence of narcotics.
Several pills were also located which contained a number of different drugs, including oxycodone.
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