State Patrol: Man Buried Marijuana Behind School

Updated 3:44 p.m.

A man was jailed in Gwinnett County recently after he fled on foot from a Georgia State Patrol officer and later buried bags of marijuana on middle school property in Duluth, according to authorities.

Timothy Jerome Carter was booked into the Gwinnett Detention Center on Jan. 17, according to jail records. Charges included obstruction of an officer and possessing a controlled substance near school property. The Georgia State Patrol incident report listed him with a Sugar Hill address.

According to the incident report, an officer stopped a car on I-85 on Jan. 17 about 10:30 p.m. after the vehicle was observed changing lanes without using turn signals.

While speaking with the driver, the officer "smelled the odor of marijuana" coming from inside the vehicle, and observed the front passenger, who was later identified as the suspect, as "appearing very nervous." A database check by the officer showed that the suspect was on probation. 

Later, the suspect stepped out of the vehicle, and the officer noticed that he had an object concealed beneath his jacket. The officer gave commands for the suspect to return to the car, but the suspect eventually began running down the I-85 shoulder toward Steve Reynolds Boulevard, according to the report.

Eventually, the suspect ran down an embankment toward Radloff Middle School. Additional patrol units were summoned, and the suspect eventually was taken into custody, the report said.

The report noted that it was put out on Georgia State Patrol radio that the suspect was seen "burying a brown bag" behind the school. Observers directed an officer to a "an area of pine straw that had been piled up." The officer found two freezer bags containing marijuana, the report said.

When questioned later, the suspect acknowledged to officers that the suspected marijuana was his, the report said.

A 1-year-old child that was in the back seat of the vehicle when it was stopped was released to his mother.

Note: This article was updated to include additional details from the incident report.

This information comes from the Georgia State Patrol and the Gwinnett Sheriff's Office. It does not indicate a conviction. Questions should be directed to duluth@patch.com.