Published: October 30, 2009 06:15 pm      

Man arrested for pot on campus

A Fort Oglethorpe man was arrested on Thursday for having marijuana on the campus of Phoenix High School in Dalton.

Nicholas Ryan Harris, 19, of 202 Acorn Lane, was charged by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school.

School resource officer Darrell Meadors was watching the parking lot as students were entering the school in the morning and noticed two “students” in a red Chevrolet Ex-Cab truck, according to an incident report.

“I walked up to the truck ... (and) Nick Harris noticed me and said, ‘What you looking at?’” said Meadors. “Due to his conduct a search was conducted of his truck and person.”

Meadors said he found rolling papers and “a green leafy substance.” He said Harris jumped out of the truck and began screaming expletives so he called dispatch for assistance and a deputy arrived. Assistant principal Huey Talley came to the parking lot and after the marijuana tested positive in a field test, Harris was placed under arrest when he claimed it.

The other person in the truck was a student who was turned over to Talley.

Harris was released on a $5,000 bond later on Thursday.