By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Cushing man on probation for possessing a drug with intent to distribute in Tryon pleaded guilty Tuesday in Payne County District Court to being a felon in possession of a .410 shotgun, as well as methamphetamine.
On the gun charge, Joshua David Phelps, 40, was placed on 10 years’ probation Tuesday except 180 days in the Payne County Jail, with an order to have a substance abuse evaluation, follow any recommendations, undergo random drug tests and pay a $500 fine along with a $960 prosecution fee.
For drug possession, Phelps was given a concurrent 180-day jail term, with credit for the time he has served since his arrest on May 14, and ordered to comply with the methamphetamine registry as part of a plea bargain with the prosecution approved in court by Payne County Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler Tuesday.
Phelps had been arrested after Cushing Deputy Police Chief Nick Myers spotted him at a convenience store on May 14 and confirmed he had a Cushing municipal arrest warrant, an affidavit said.
“Mr. Phelps had gotten into a silver sport utility vehicle and left the parking lot. I activated my emergency lights to perform a traffic stop,” on the SUV driven by a 34-year-old woman, who turned south from Main Street onto Highland Street, the deputy police chief wrote in an affidavit.
The driver, who was not arrested but attempted to exit the vehicle, was ordered back inside it, the affidavit said.
“I immediately noticed a single-shot break-over shotgun sitting next to Mr. Phelps. I asked Mr. Phelps about the shotgun and he advised he was going to the farm to shoot it,” the deputy police chief wrote in his affidavit.
After arresting Phelps on his outstanding Cushing warrant, “I searched Mr. Phelps for additional weapons or contraband and located two Remington .410 shotgun shells in his right front pocket,” along with three baggies of methamphetamine, the deputy police chief wrote in his affidavit.
“I approached the vehicle to retrieve the shotgun,” and was advised by Phelps that it was loaded, the deputy police chief wrote in his affidavit.
Phelps had pleaded guilty last August to possessing a drug with intent to distribute in Tryon and received a four-year probationary sentence, which Lincoln County prosecutors are seeking to revoke. A Lincoln County arrest warrant for Phelps was issued on Friday, court records show.
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