A 18-year-old man was accused of trying to sell marijuana on the square allegedly tried to elude officers when contacted Saturday evening.
Sulphur Springs Police Officer Chad Norris was reportedly contacted about 8:20 p.m. July 20 by officer Tony Crouse, who was working on the square. Crouse alleged he was contacted by citizens who claimed a person asking if they wanted to buy marijuana had approached them.
Norris and Crouse contacted the suspect to investigate the claim. Crouse reportedly obtained permission to search the man’s backpack and instructed the man to sit on a bench in the 100 block of Main Street while he did so, according to arrest reports.
Norris assumed when the Sulphur Springs teen kicked off his house shoes that he was getting ready to run. Proving the officer’s suspicion to be correct, the man “jumped up and began running away,” the officer alleged in arrest reports.
“My natural reaction was to grab and detain him due to this suspicious behavior and him being very cooperative to this point. I went after the arrested person and grabbed him by his shirt. Arrested person continued to use his force to try and pull away and break my hold on his shirt. Crouse was able to help get the arrested person to the ground. Arrested person would not comply and give us his hands while on the ground,” Norris alleged in arrest reports.
The officers did eventually got him into handcuffs. A search of the backpack revealed a pint-sized Mason-type jar containing a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana.
Consequently, the 18-year-old Sulphur Springs man was arrested on a Class A misdemeanor charges of possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana in a drug-free zone, due to the location of the arrest within 1,000 feet of The ROC, a drug-free zone, and for resisting arrest, search or transport.
He remained in the county jail Monday morning. His bond was set at $2,000 on both misdemeanor charges, according to jail reports.
