Austin police arrest three for alleged meth use

Published 10:59 am Friday, May 18, 2012

Police arrested three people in Austin on Thursday, all on meth related crimes.

According to Police Capt. Dave McKichan, a traffic officer stopped a woman at 3 a.m. and ran her license, which had been canceled.

The officer allegedly noticed the woman, Candice Christianson, 32, acting strangely, so the officer searched the vehicle and found a marijuana pipe, small amount of marijuana and 0.6 grams of meth. Christianson was cited for a controlled substance DWI and taken to the Mower County jail.

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A patrol officer later recognized a man, James Hutchinson, 30, at the 800 block of Eighth Street SW who had two outstanding warrants. Hutchinson and a woman, Maria Sanchez, 19, allegedly went into a house when they saw the officer. The homeowner did not know the two entered the house and allegedly allowed police to search the home. Police found both suspects and arrested them. According to the police report, police found a purse — not belonging to the homeowner — that contained a small amount of meth and a meth pipe.

Hutchinson and Sanchez were both arrested and taken to the Mower County jail.