State Rep. Bob Watson In Treatment In Florida

State Rep. Bob Watson (R-Dist. 30) is in a rehabilitation center in Florida, his lawyer Timothy Williamson told the court Thursday. Judge Mary McCaffrey had ordered Williamson to return to court on Thursday , other than that Watson was “out of state” in treatment. On that date, Judge McCaffrey had called Williamson’s lack of knowledge about his client’s whereabouts “a bit unusual.”

Watson and charged with possessing marijuana after he drove into a parking lot on Tower Hill Road, nearly hitting a snow plow operator. at an undisclosed location.

According to court records received Thursday afternoon, Watson is at the Florida Center for Recovery in Fort Pierce.

Williamson was also supposed to present the court with a signed waiver of extradition, but he did not have that Thursday, according to South Kingstown prosecutor Terrence Simpson. Simpson said Williamson told the judge that the letter was in transit. A waiver of extradition is common procedure when someone charged with a crime is out of state.

Watson is facing a trial in New Haven, Conn., for driving while intoxicated and possessing marijuana from charges stemming from a traffic stop last April. Watson said after that incident that he had the marijuana because of episodic pain he suffered following a bout of pancreatitis in November 2010. Marijuana is legal in Rhode Island for residents who have a prescription for the drug — Watson does not have a medical marijuana card.

Watson’s arraignment on the latest charge is scheduled for March 1.