An Illinois man was arrested on multiple felony charges Monday morning after Garland County sheriff's deputies responded to a disturbance in progress involving a man with a gun.
Joshua Paul Cook, 32, who lists a Mason City, Ill., address, was taken into custody shortly before 8:30 a.m. and charged with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, punishable by up to life in prison, two counts of possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, punishable by six to 10 years, two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, each punishable by up to six years.
Cook remained in custody Tuesday on zero bond and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly before 8 a.m., Deputies Courtney Kizer and Candice Stacks responded to a residence in the 900 block of Hamilton Dairy Road regarding a white male outside the house "waving a gun."
Kizer said she saw a pewter-colored Chevrolet pickup with an Illinois license plate and a white male driver and white female passenger attempting to drive away from the residence. Stacks blocked the truck and asked the occupants to get out.
Stacks asked the driver, later identified as Cook, if he had a gun and he reportedly showed her a holster on his right hip that was empty. Kizer had dispatchers run a computer check on Cook but they weren't able to find anything and thought the system might be down.
When asked where the gun was, Cook directed the deputies to its location under the truck seat and they recovered a loaded Smith and Wesson SDVE handgun.
Kizer also asked Cook if he had any drugs in the vehicle and he reportedly admitted there was meth under the driver's seat. She located a black eyeglass case containing five dextroamphetamine pills, five hydrocodone pills and a small container with 0.6 grams of what later tested positive for cocaine.
Kizer also reportedly found a zippered case with two glass pipes and a container with 0.2 grams of what later tested positive for meth so he was taken into custody.
The affidavit notes the deputies were able to confirm his identity through a marriage license located in the vehicle along with several other legal documents.
The 18th Judicial District East Drug Task Force was notified of the arrest and responded to the detention center to take over the investigation.
Local on 05/13/2020