A judge sent a 23-year-old Oak Harbor man caught with methamphetamine in his pocket to state prison.

Jerald White pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court Aug. 5 to two counts of possession of methamphetamine.

On the same day, Judge Vickie Churchill sentenced White to a year and a half in prison, which is at the high end of the standard sentencing range. She also ordered him to pay $1,827 in fines and fees.

Oak Harbor Police Officer Mel Lolmaugh pulled a car over in Oak Harbor Dec. 18, 2004. White was one of the passengers in the car.

When White stepped out of the car, a meth pipe fell out of his pocket. The officer searched him and found a suspicious cylinder on his keychain. Inside the cylinder was meth.

White told Lolmaugh that he uses meth a couple of times a month and sells it to pay off court fees.

Judge Alan Hancock issued a $10,000 warrant on White after he didn’t appear for a July 1 court hearing. Under the plea bargain, prosecutors won’t charge White with bail jumping.

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