WINONA, Minn. – The white bag was a tip-off when police stopped a car on Cottonwood Drive on the Far West End. The bag, police said, turned out to be cocaine. Chase Michael Wehner, 22, of Winona, was arrested. Police also arrested the driver, Jonathan Marquist Payton, 35, who police said pushed a bag into his mouth, denied having anything in his mouth, and turned away and tried to shove the bag down his throat with his fingers. Peyton then attempted to flee but was quickly apprehended. Later while being booked, the jailer found meth in Wehner’s clothes. Both men were charged tentatively with fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance. An additional charge, introducing contraband into the jail, was referred against Wehner. The pair had been stopped originally near the Kwik Trip on Cottonwood Drive about 11:15 a.m. when police recognized Wehner as wanted on an outstanding warrant.
Wehner. Charges piling up: Four counts of theft, three counts of credit card fraud, two counts of burglary, two counts of possessing a controlled substance, auto theft, driving after revocation.