Where convicted Patterson man tried to hide small bag of meth

A 38-year-old Patterson man has been sentenced to six years in prison for trying to hide a small bag of methamphetamine in his own anal cavity while he was being booked at the Stanislaus County Jail.

A jury on Sept. 12 found Joel James Cloud guilty of resisting an officer and possessing drugs in jail, both felonies. Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff sentenced Cloud on Oct. 12, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Tuesday afternoon.

The incident occurred Dec. 4 as a sheriff’s deputy searched Cloud. Prosecutors said Cloud tossed the small bag of meth into the corner of a jail cell. The deputy then ordered Cloud to place his hands behind his back to be handcuffed, but the inmate did not comply.

Prosecutors said Cloud grabbed the meth and tried to swallow it. A struggled ensued as the deputy and the inmate fell to the floor and wrestled to grab the meth.

The deputy stopped to call for backup. Then, Cloud tried to insert the small bag of meth into his anal cavity, according to prosecutors. The other deputies arrived, and Cloud stopped resisting. The deputies recovered the meth.

Deputy District Attorney Patrick Hogan prosecuted the case. In 1998, Cloud was convicted of carjacking in San Benito County, which is considered a strike under state’s “Three Strikes” law.

On Tuesday evening, Cloud was in custody at the jail awaiting transfer to prison.

This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 9:54 AM.