Man acquitted of shooting his brother found with sawed-off shotgun
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POCATELLO — A man who was recently found not guilty in the shooting of his brother was arrested Thursday after police discovered heroin, methamphetamine and a sawed-off shotgun while they investigated a suspicious vehicle.
Pocatello police said they found the car near the 1300 block of North Grant around 4:30 a.m. It was occupied by 32-year-old Dustin Sweeney and an 18-year-old female passenger, Taylor Lawrence.
Officers discovered the sawed-off shotgun on the floor of the vehicle next to the driver’s seat. Sweeney is a convicted felon, which means he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Sweeney was taken into custody, and while searching him police discovered 1.33 grams of heroin.
He has been awaiting sentencing on a felony conviction of malicious injury to jail property, a charge he pleaded guilty to in August.
Sweeney was found not guilty of aggravated battery and use of a deadly weapon in September in connection with the shooting of his older brother, Ryan Sweeney, on Feb. 8.
Lawrence, Sweeney’s passenger, was found to have .77 grams of marijuana and .84 grams of methamphetamine, police said. Lawrence also allegedly had two packaged bundles consisting of .27 and .46 grams of heroin, respectively.
Sweeney was booked into the Bannock County Jail on a felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor driving without privileges.
Lawrence was booked on two felonies for possession of a controlled substance.
Both were being held without bond Thursday morning until they make their first court appearance in the afternoon.
A booking photo for Lawrence was unavailable as of Thursday morning.