Cops: Pot Plant Was Sticking Out of Car Window

Sometimes making a case against an accused criminal is tough. Other times, the evidence is right there for everyone to see.

That was the case in Clearwater recently when a police officer pulled over a car following a recent burglary only to discover a marijuana plant clearly sticking out of the back window.

“From the you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up department,” is how the department introduced a photo of the plant on its Facebook page.

While the plant sticking out of the car window was enough to catch some serious attention, that wasn’t all the officer found in the car.

“The back seat was loaded with other potted plants – and not the kind from the local home supplies store, either,” the Facebook page said.

The incident happened in the early morning hours of July 24 when a detective spotted a suspicious 2008 Pontiac G6 with its headlights out sitting on the street near Ottawa and Lake, Clearwater Police Department spokesman Rob Shaw said.

The car was pulled over by a marked unit in the 1300 block of Boylan Avenue, Shaw said. While Allen Thomas Barnes, 19, and Justin Goodloe, 20, were detained, another passenger “bolted from the car.”

When the officer walked up to the car, he spotted “a green leafy plant extended out the driver’s side rear window,” Shaw said. “Inside on the back seat were several large marijuana plants. Goodloe told officers that they had stolen the marijuana from a house on South Lake Avenue from an acquaintance of his who owed him $100 over a drug debt.”

Goodloe and Barnes were both charged with manufacturing of marijuana. More charges could be pending.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Clearwater Police Department’s Facebook page