A couple of weeks ago I was driving around at work looking for someone to pull over. It was a slow day, so I was pretty bored. I keep my RADAR running while I’m driving around, even though I’m not yet certified on it. I can’t make a traffic stop based on it, but if I see someone speeding, I can then pace them and pull them over based on my speedometer. I saw a Ford Taurus go past me in the opposite direction traveling 65 MPH in a 45 MPH zone. I turned on my blue lights so I could do a quick u-turn. Once I caught up with them,  I paced them at 60 MPH. We were coming up to a red light, so I turned my lights back on and pulled them over.

As I approached the car, the driver rolled down his window. By the time I was at the trunk of the car I could smell green marijuana. (I know the smell from my training and work experience, so don’t get any ideas.) There were two people in the car, so I only asked the driver about the speeding. As soon as I got back to my car I radioed for another unit. Once backup arrived, he and I went back to the car and I pulled the driver out. I asked him where his weed was. He said that he didn’t have any, so I told him that I was going to search his vehicle. He was very agitated at this point and demanded to see the search warrant. I patiently explained to him that since I smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, I didn’t not need a search warrant. I tried to explain to him that since vehicles are mobile, officers are not required to obtain a search warrant, which could take hours, as long as we had probable cause to search the vehicle. I smelled marijuana, and that was probable cause to search it vehicle. I placed him in handcuffs and put him in the back of the car. He was not under arrest at that point, but since I was going to be searching the car, I didn’t want my partner to be out numbered by the teens that were in the car.

I first looked in the center console, and was surprised when I found nothing but CDs. I then looked under the driver’s seat and saw a large gray plastic bag. I reached under the seat and grabbed it. I felt something soft that was the size of a softball. I quitely said to myself, “Please be weed.” I opened the bag and saw that my wish had come true. I then searched behind the seat and found a bookbag. Inside the bookbag I found a digital scale, two boxes of zipper bags, and a small amount of marijuana.

At this point, the guy was now under arrest. His friend got to walk home, and I impounded the car. I could have called someone to pick up his car, or let his friend drive it home, but the guy was annoying me. People talk themselves into crap all the time. I would have gladly let his friend drive the car home if he’d been nice to me, but he was giving me trouble, so I impounded his car. (I know it’s mean, but it keeps me smiling.)

So once I weighed the marijuana, I found that he had one-third of a pound. Anything over one ounce is a felony. One-third of a pound is 5.33 ounces. I charged him with speeding and possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. The judge gave him a $10,000 bond.