Twain Harte, CA – A Twain Harte man was caught dumping trash, and more than 25 grams of meth were uncovered.
A report of a suspicious pickup with a trailer full of trash being dumped and then the driver passing out behind the wheel sent deputies from the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office to the area of Mt. Elizabeth Road in Twain Harte this past Saturday (10/11) night. Deputies located the truck, and inside was the driver, 39-year-old Lawrence William Thompson Jr.
During questioning, sheriff’s officials recount that a glass pipe fell onto the floorboard from Thompson’s pocket. A pat-down of him revealed around 25.8 grams of methamphetamine in his pocket. A search of the truck uncovered a Ceska bolt-action rifle with ammunition in a soft gun case, which he was not supposed to possess, according to sheriff’s officials. Also located were burglary tools, including lock picks and a double-sided key, and additional drug use paraphernalia. Thompson was on felony gun and drug charges.
Sheriff’s officials noted, “A record check of Thompson found he had two prior convictions for possession of controlled substances—making the current possession a felony charge under law changes subsequent to the voter-passed proposition 36 in 2024, which reclassified certain drug possession offenses as felonies when committed by individuals with two or more prior drug convictions.”
