Newton Man Gets Suspended 15 year Prison Term on Drug Charges

A 27 year old Newton man has been given a 15 year 180-day suspended prison term and 3 years of probation on 3 drug charges connected to a traffic stop in Monroe about a year ago. Randall Thomas Potts Jr. pleaded guilty to Possession of Meth with Intent to Deliver, 1^st Offense Possession of Marijuana, and Failure to Have a Drug Tax Stamp. Potts received consecutive 10 and 5 year suspended prison terms for the drug possession charges and another consecutive 180 day suspended term for the Tax Stamp Violation. Potts will pay 125-dollar surcharges on each charge. He was arrested around 11:30 in the evening November 21^st of last year.  According to the arrest report, the Newton man was pulled over near Highway 14 and East Sherman Street in Monroe for not having a front license plate. The officer noticed an odor of marijuana, and then spotted a plastic baggie containing marijuana hanging out of a pocket on the back of Potts’ pants. A subsequent search found 5 to 6 grams of meth in a cigarette pack, a digital scale, and numerous plastic baggies. The arrest report also says Potts was in possession of 1-thousand 10-dollars cash.