Plymouth man guilty again of meth possession, sent to jail

MASON CITY – A Plymouth man avoided a felony charge after he was caught for a third time by police with the dangerous drug methamphetamine.

A Cerro Gordo county deputy conducted a traffic stop on the evening of September 30, 2016, on Mason City’s North End. At about 7:18 PM that night, near North Federal Avenue and 9th Street, the deputy pulled over 44-year-old Scott Allen Shafer, a known possessor of illegal narcotics with an invalid driver’s license. As a result of the stop and investigation, Shafer was arrested on charges of driving under suspension, felony third-offense possession of meth, and no insurance. His vehicle was impounded and he was taken to the county jail, where he remains held on bond.

On February 7, Shafer was able to work the system and garner a plea deal to a lesser charge of second-offense possession of meth. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and must pay $785.00 in court costs and fees. He is now in the county jail serving his sentence.

Shafer was first caught with meth back on September 11, 2015, when Hampton police arrested him. He pled guilty in February of 2016 to first-offense possession of meth and was sentenced to 2 days in jail, had his license revoked, and was ordered to pay $901.56 in fines and court fees.

Shafer was caught a second time on April 16, 2016, during a traffic stop at the 500 block of North Delaware by a Cerro Gordo deputy. Allegedly, during a consent search, Shafer was found to have several baggies with off-white substance suspected to be methamphetamine inside of them. The baggies each contained a small amount of methamphetamine. He was arrested and charged with aggravated misdemeanor second-offense possession of a controlled substance. Shafer entered a not-guilty plea, but on September 13, 2016 – just days before his most recent drug arrest – he and his public defender changed his plea to guilty. He was sentenced to 365 days in jail with 358 suspended and put on probation for a year. He was also ordered to pay $358.00 in court costs as his $625.00 fine was suspended.

Shafer does not appear to be facing a probation violation charge, yet.