A Whiteside County judge ruled Wednesday that enough evidence exists for prosecutors to proceed with a meth trafficking case filed last month against a Morrison man.

Scott Pruis, 49, was formally charged May 15 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‘s Blackhawk Area Task Force. Pruis also is charged with possessing alprazolam, a controlled substance.

Whiteside County Associate Judge Jonathan Ruud ruled Wednesday that probable cause exists after listening to testimony from Clinton, Iowa, police officer Eric North. North is a member of the Blackhawk Area Task Force and assisted in investigating the case.

Pruis was taken into custody on May 14 after police officers who were staking out his home watched him retrieve a box containing 420 grams of purported meth, in the form of orange pills, from his front porch, according to court documents.

[ Morrison man charged in meth trafficking case judge describes as ‘big-time business,’ faces up to 100 years ]

According to those documents, the meth trafficking charge accuses Pruis of having the drug mailed to him from another state.

Pruis has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Whiteside County Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Simon questioned North about what police found when searching Pruis’ house.

North said the postal service became suspicious about the package because it came from an area with a lot of narcotics activity, and the mailing fee was paid with cryptocurrency. The tracking on the package was tied to Pruis’ email account, and it was addressed to his home in the 400 block of South Cherry Street, North said.

That package was intercepted by police at the Morrison Post Office, opened, and searched after police were granted a federal search warrant.

North said the pills in the box tested positive for the presence of meth through the use of two different tests, and that a postal inspector placed the box on Pruis’ front porch. Officers staked out the home from nearby vehicles to watch the package and saw Pruis pick it up and bring it into the house, North said.

Police immediately executed a search warrant after they saw Pruis pick up the package and go into his house, North said.

He said Pruis was the only person home at the time the search was carried out. Orange pills were found in a plastic container in a cabinet, with the package and associated wrapping on the counter and in the trash, he said.

A bookcase along a wall in the house actually was a secret door that, when opened, led police into a game room, North said. North said green leafy substances, thought to be cannabis, as well as other presumed THC-containing products, $300 in cash, suspected mushrooms, and alprazolam were found in that room. He said the various substances have been sent off for lab testing.

Small plastic baggies and clear capsules also were found, he said.

Pruis’ attorney, James Mertes of Sterling, questioned North as to why the pills in the plastic container were not tested after they were seized by police during the search of the home, and also about the reliability of the testing done on the pills in the box placed on Pruis’s porch. He also said his client had asked for an attorney, but was later questioned by police without an attorney present.

Mertes also said it is lawful to use cryptocurrency to pay mailing fees.

In a separate action, Pruis has formally asked the court to issue a protective order to preserve evidence and allow his defense team to conduct independent testing of the substance seized when the search was conducted.

Mertes filed the motion in Whiteside County Circuit Court on May 26, arguing that independent analysis is necessary because authorities used different methods to identify the substances in question.

All three methamphetamine counts hinge on proving the substance is actually methamphetamine – making the drug’s identity central to the charges.

According to the motion, prosecutors allege Pruis possessed 420.7 grams of a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as 79.7 grams of alprazolam. However, the same substance was also described in court documents as “15.2 ounces of orange pills” – a detail that raises questions about the identification method, Mertes argues.

“Methamphetamine is not commonly distributed in the form of orange pills,” the motion states.

If authorities used a pill identifier to determine the alprazolam’s content, Mertes contends, the same method would suggest the orange pills are probably not methamphetamine. A pill identifier is a tool that helps identify pills by their imprint, color, and shape, providing assistance to find the name and details of a medication based on its appearance.

“Admittedly, however, counterfeit pills could theoretically be pressed with methamphetamine instead of legitimate pharmaceutical ingredients, designed to look like real prescription medication in the form of orange pills,” the motion reads. “In that event, the nature of and content of the counterfeit pills’ ‘disguise’ would still be relevant to the issue of the defendant’s alleged knowledge.”

The defense motion cites Illinois law and constitutional due process protections that allow defendants to request preservation and independent testing of suspected controlled substances. Mertes notes there is a sufficient quantity of the alleged drugs – likely more than 800 pills – to permit testing by both the prosecution and defense without consuming the entire sample.

The meth delivery charge carries a possible prison sentence of 12 to 50 years and a maximum fine of $300,000, while the meth possession charge could lead to a prison sentence of anywhere from 8 to 40 years and a fine of $200,000.

Pruis remains in the Whiteside County Jail. His next court appearance, a pretrial conference, is set for 1:30 p.m. on June 24.