A Nevada man was sentenced in Freeborn County District Court on Thursday to four years in prison for having 1 1/2 pounds of methamphetamine in a car on Interstate 35.

Edward Ben Rourke, 37, of Reno, Nev., was traveling with two others to the St. Paul area where they planned to sell the drug.

Their vehicle was pulled over by a Minnesota State Patrol trooper between the Clarks Grove and Geneva exits on Aug. 20.

Rourke told police he purchased the meth in the Reno area for $10,000 and planned to sell it for about $30,000, according to court documents.

Along with the meth, troopers found marijuana pipes, a methamphetamine pipe, a digital scale and more than $10,000 in cash in the car.

A jury in December found Rourke guilty of second-degree drug possession.

In court Thursday, Rourke said he was sorry for his actions.

“I would like to apologize to your community for what I did,” he said.

Freeborn County District Court Judge Ross Leuning said Rourke will be required to serve two-third of his sentence — which equals two years and eight months — in prison, and the remaining one-third — or 16 months — on supervised release.

Leuning gave Rourke credit for 106 days spent in in the Freeborn County jail.

A warrant is out for a second man in the vehicle, Bradley Jay Glewwe, also of Reno, for first-degree drug possession.