A Jefferson teen was recently sentenced to prison on a felony drug charge and violating his probation.

Assistant Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn tells Raccoon Valley Radio 19-year-old Jesus Zuniga was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Friday. Laehn says Zuniga received five years after pleading guilty to a Class D Felony for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and then will serve another eight years on previous convictions for violating his probation.

The felony for possession with intent to deliver stemmed from an investigation by the Jefferson Police Department in April. According to court documents, an officer conducted a traffic stop on April 23rd in which another individual was arrested for possession of marijuana while driving Zuniga’s car. After his car was impounded, court documents show that Zuniga called upset about his car being in the city’s impound lot. An officer then saw the following day that one of the doors of Zuniga’s vehicle was ajar and had been tampered with. Zuniga’s parole officer was contacted and tracking images of Zuniga’s GPS ankle bracelet showed he was outside of the impound lot.

A search warrant was then obtained for Zuniga’s text messages from Facebook and his cell phone. Court documents show that from April 23rd through May 10th, there were messages made to individuals about Zuniga participating in distributing marijuana to those individuals. There was also one such conversation with a friend in which Zuniga talked about a “ziploc” back being left under the driver’s seat of his car in the impound lot. It also showed them talking about sliding under the fence and recovering the items from the impound lot.

As per the plea agreement, the State dismissed the aggravated misdemeanor charge for interference with official acts by obstructing prosecution and a simple misdemeanor for criminal mischief.

As for the probation revocation sentencing, court documents show that the judge revoked Zuniga’s probation from a previous felony for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver as well as two misdemeanors for burglaries and imposed the maximum prison sentences.

Laehn adds that he appreciates the work that the Jefferson Police Department did in handling the most recent case, with gathering and preserving of evidence.