LINN  — Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Grellner charged Rusty J. Arlen, 32, of Linn, last week with second-degree drug trafficking, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon (possession with a felony-controlled substance), and resisting arrest for his actions on Dec. 21. Arlen was taken into custody last Wednesday, Jan. 3, when he reported to the office of Probation and Parole.

Arlen gave law enforcement the slip after deputies confronted him at James E. Czeschin’s farm in Bland.

After securing a search warrant, Osage County and Gasconade County deputies contacted a man, later identified as Arlen, who was alone on the property. They permitted him to secure his dog, which he said would bite. While securing the dog, Arlen fled the scene on foot into a wooded area and evaded law enforcement.

Czeschin showed up later and was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property and possession of a controlled substance following a search of his property.

While searching Arlen’s GMC 2500 truck at Czeschin’s property, deputies found an unknown make and model 30-06 rifle in the passenger side of the vehicle and approximately 41 grams of methamphetamine, which field-tested positive in a black container also containing a digital scale.

Because the vehicle was not registered, deputies checked the VIN through Osage County Communications, which indicated the truck was last registered to Zach Martin of Tuscumbia. Deputies contacted Martin’s wife, who said they sold the vehicle to Rusty Arlen while he was employed by their timber business.

On Dec. 22, a female who identified herself as Dana Arlen, the wife of the defendant, told deputies he took his truck to a friend’s residence to have it worked on. She confirmed the GMC 2500 was purchased from Zach Martin.

On Dec. 26, officers contacted Arlen’s former employer, Sara Martin of Martin Timber Harvesting, who confirmed that a photo of the defendant was Arlen and that the truck in the background was the vehicle she and her husband had sold to him.

Arlen was released on a $100,000 cash or surety bond and is due to return to court for a bond hearing at 10 a.m. on Feb. 6 before Judge Sonya Brandt.