Cobb Man Jailed for Showing Up Late to Trial, Given Prison Sentence for Marijuana Possession

An Marietta man who was sent to jail after showing up late for his own trial has been convicted of marijuana possession and has been sentenced to prison, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

In April of 2014, Austell Gas reported a suspected theft of utilities at a home on Bryan Way in Marietta to Cobb Police. Officers went to the house, and when the occupants of the home opened the door to speak with them, the officers could smell marijuana inside the home. Police later returned with a search warrant and seized bags of marijuana which Michael Eric Watkins, 40, had hidden in the couch next to his room.

Watkins was described as an “expert in the art of constructive possession,” who had thought of several creative and brazen ways to conceal his drug stash from authorities, even allegedly hiding a bag of marijuana under the back seat of a Marietta police car, the DA’s Office said. Watkins also allegedly hid marijuana under the hood of his mother’s minivan.

After Watkins was late to court on Tuesday, Cobb County Judge Adele Grubbs revoked his bond and had him arrested. Cobb County jail records show that Watkins is currently inside Cobb County jail being held without bond on a felony failure to appear charge.

Following Watkins’ conviction for marijuana possession on Thursday, Grubbs sentenced Watkins as a recidivist to a 10-year prison sentence.

“[W]e hope he uses [his time in prison] in a constructive manner to seek the help he needs,” ADA Shep Orlow said in a post-sentencing statement.