(COLDWATER) - A Branch County Circuit Court jury found a Bronson man guilty of possession of methamphetamine Tuesday afternoon.
Branch County Prosecutor Victor Fitz says it took the jury 20 minutes to deliberate and return the guilty verdict on 63-year-old Paul Dirschell.
On September 24, 2025, the Coldwater Police Department received a tip that drug activity was happening in the parking lot of the Branch County District Library at 10 East Chicago Road.
Officers arrived and found Dirschell and another individual standing by a moped. Police found a storage compartment under the handlebars. When asked by officers, Dirschell admitted the moped was his and that there was an unused syringe in a black glove. Police found both the glove and the syringe along with a whitish powdery substance.
The powder was tested by the Michigan State Crime Lab and it was determined to be approximately .2 of a gram of methamphetamine.
Dirschell was on parole at the time of this incident for a previous felony conviction.
Dirschell is being charged as a criminal habitual offender due to prior convictions in 2000, 2010 and 2023. He is scheduled to be sentenced this Fall and faces up to life in prison.