By Gary Mays

gmays@themonroetimes.com

MONROE — Not guilty pleas were entered Monday for a Monroe man accused of felony possession of marijuana, maintaining a drug trafficking house and other charges.

Peter V. Cramer, 38, also faces charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of an illegally obtained prescription and felony bail jumping. They were filed following a raid last winter on a storage unit on Bethel Road in the Town of Monroe, rented by Cramer. 

The defendant chose to stand mute and thus not guilty pleas were entered Monday on his behalf before Green County Circuit Judge Jane Bucher.

Prior to his arrest, a local drug task force reportedly obtained a tip in the case on the storage unit by an informant. A police K9 dog also added to the probable cause, having hit on the unit when brought in to sniff for drugs, according to the criminal complaint against Cramer.

Once inside unit 23 of the storage complex, police allegedly found bags of marijuana and other drugs, including Clonozepam, for which Cramer had no prescription. They also allegedly found a shotgun, boxes of ammunition and two ballistic vests.

Cramer is scheduled for a pre-trial conference in Green County Circuit Court. He is free on a $2,000 bond, court records indicate.