A Morrison man was taken into custody on several methamphetamine charges Thursday after police officers, who were staking out his home, watched him retrieve a box containing 420 grams of meth from his front porch.

Scott Pruis, 49, was formally charged Friday with meth trafficking, meth delivery and meth possession after postal service workers’ suspicions about a package mailed from California and addressed to his home triggered an investigation carried out by the Illinois State Police and the Blackhawk Area Task Force. He also was charged with possessing alprazolam, a controlled substance.

According to court documents, the meth trafficking charge accuses Pruis of bringing the drug in from another state with the intent to deliver it, and carries a prison sentence from 24 to 100 years if he is convicted.

The meth delivery charge carries a possible prison sentence of 12 to 50 years and a maximum fine $300,000, while the meth possession charge could lead to an eight-year prison sentence and a fine of $200,000.

Pruis pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday during his first appearance in Whiteside County Circuit Court.

During that appearance, Whiteside County Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Schrauth said postal service workers became suspicious of the package after it had been mailed from a California area known to be near narcotic activity, its postage paid using cryptocurrency. It was addressed to Pruis’s home in the 400 block of South Cherry Street in Morrison.

With the assistance of postal inspectors, the Illinois State Police retrieved the box when it arrived at the Morrison post office; a federal search warrant was granted so authorities could open and search it, Schrauth said. She said 420.7 grams of meth-filled pills were discovered in the box, which was then sealed back up and delivered to Pruis’s front door as officers watched the house.

After they saw him retrieve the box and reenter his home, officers served him with a warrant, searched his home, and found the pills in a plastic food container inside a kitchen cabinet, Schrauth said. She said a search of the home’s game room turned up a plastic bag containing 79.7 grams of alprazolam, a generic form of Xanax.

She said the state’s attorney’s office was seeking to have Pruis remain in the Whiteside County Jail because of the threat the methamphetamine posed to the community.

But Whiteside County Assistant Public Defender Jessica Deets asked that Pruis be released because he needs to work as a self-employed handyman and painter to support three of his children; two are in college and one is in cosmetology school, she said. She also said he has strong family support.

She also said no crime of violence was involved and no weapons turned up during the search of his residence. His criminal history includes a 1995 conviction for possession of cannabis and a reckless driving conviction from 2011, Deets said.

Schrauth pointed to the danger posed by the amount of meth that she said he was responsible for bringing into the community. She also said he couldn’t be trusted if allowed on pretrial release.

“Anyone bold enough to use the government to commit a crime is bold enough to get around [pretrial] conditions,” she said.

Whiteside County Circuit Court Judge James Heuerman agreed with Schrauth, pointing to the amount of the drug and the danger it poses to the community at large.

“The reality is, possessing this quantity of methamphetamine suggests that there is the movement of a lot of methamphetamine,” he said, adding that the amount would have a serious, detrimental effect on the community into which it is brought.

“The danger of what that amount of meth can do to a community ... it’s horrible,’ Heuerman said, at one point saying 420 grams points to a “big-time business. It’s bad enough when people are moving 10 to 15 grams. When it’s over 400 grams, there’s only one reason: You are somewhere in the stream of commerce.”

Pruis is scheduled to appear in court for an attorney status hearing at 9 a.m. May 28. His preliminary hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. June 1.