Muskego Man Allegedly Asks Cop to Get Phone He Left Next to a Heroin Kit

A 21-year-old Muskego man is facing charges after he got into an accident on the north side of Milwaukee and then asked a police officer to get his cell phone while it was on the floor next to a heroin kit.

Ethan Clay Gustavson was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Tuesday with one count of possession of narcotic drugs. If convicted, he faces up to 3 ½ years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

At 3:02 p.m. Sunday, Gustavson was driving eastbound on West Lisbon Avenue when he switched lanes, lost control of his vehicle in the 4700 block and hit a light pole. A witness to the accident said she had been behind Gustavson since North 60^th Street and he had kept deviating out of his lane and drove into oncoming traffic before the accident occurred.

Gustavson was shaking and unable to keep his eyes open, but insisted to Milwaukee police officers he hadn’t taken drugs, but had been drinking “a lot of strong alcohol” since 4:30 a.m. He failed field sobriety tests and was placed under arrest.

Gustavson asked a police officer if he could get his cell phone out of the vehicle  when the officer found the phone it was laying on the floor next to a burn cup used to cook heroin, along with syringes with what was later determined to be liquid opiates inside them.

He will make his initial appearance in court Thursday.