Police Catch Woodstock Man With Suspected Marijuana

A Woodstock man's drive-out tag looked a little odd to an Alpharetta police officer, but when he pulled the motorist over he ended up making a drug arrest.

The officer was on patrol Jan. 11 at 10:15 p.m. when he saw the car on Windward Parkway. As he explained to the driver why he was stopped, the officer said in his incident report that he smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car. The driver said he smoked some marijuana two hours earlier on his break from his job at Costco, but denied having any drugs in the car.

Once the car was searched, suspected marijuana was found. A "bowl," a glass smoking device, was found with marijuana residue in it under the spare tire in the trunk. As the officer knew from experience and training that suspects often hide illegal drugs in engine compartments, that's where he searched next. He hit paydirt when he found a plastic bag with suspected marijuana stuffed in between the air filter and the body of the car.

The paperwork for the car matched up with the drive-out tag, but the owner may not get to drive it as it was impounded.

Deion Aaron Thomas, 21, of Rocking Porch Way, Woodstock, was charged with a felony count of having drug-related objects and possession of marijuana less than one ounce.