The Commerce Police Department didn’t buy a 37-year-old man’s story that the vehicle was stopped in the road so he could urinate — particularly when the stories of the passenger and the driver as to why they were on the road didn’t jibe.
As it turned out, the officer’s skepticism was warranted.
He’d seen the vehicle stopped in the middle of Old Harden Orchard Road at about 11:30, and when he pulled up behind it, the vehicle’s signal light came on and the driver nearly pulled into a ditch.
John Luke Jenkins, 37, of 1729 Carolyn Lake Circle, Thomson, turned out to have an outstanding warrant from the Thomson police department, and a search of the vehicle turned up a bag containing marijuana, a set of scales, a pipe and other materials, which Jenkins, the passenger, admitted were his, according to the arrest report.
The officer also found methamphetamine during a search of Jenkins, who concluded, “I know I’m in trouble,” the officers account of the incident said.
He was charged with possession of methamphetamine, misdemeanor possession of marijuana and the Thomson warrant. The driver was not charged.
For all of the arrests and incidents reported by the Commerce Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff's Office, see the June 20 edition of The Commerce News.
