Deputy can tell pot from tomato plant

Published 10:49 pm Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office deputies apparently stay up to date on their botany classes.

A woman pulled over with a marijuana plant sitting in the back seat of her car tried to tell Deputy Dustin Taylor it was just a tomato plant, but Taylor wasn’t falling for her gardening assessment, according to an incident report.

Amy Lavada Ray, 40, of 1496 Halls Chapel Road in Crandall, was charged Tuesday with manufacture of marijuana, failure to maintain lane, driving without a valid license, driving without insurance and party to a crime after being pulled over in the area of Highway 286 and Highway 52. The passenger in her 1984 Buick Skylark — Bobby Ray Green, 17, of 3735 Miller Road in Dalton — was charged with manufacture of marijuana and possession and use of drug-related objects.

According to the incident report, when Taylor pulled Ray over she “seemed panicked and wanted to know why she was pulled over.” While talking with Ray, Taylor said a potted plant could be plainly viewed in the back seat of the car. Taylor wrote he asked Ray what kind of plant was in the back of the car and she said it was a tomato plant.

Quoting the report, “Deputy Taylor advised Amy it was not a tomato plant.”

When she was asked why she was driving it around, Ray told the deputy she was going to dispose of the plant when she reached her destination. When he asked her why she would get rid of a perfectly good tomato plant, she did not reply. Taylor called in a narcotics officer, who was able to confirm Taylor’s botanical expertise.

When Green got out of the car, the report said he gave Taylor permission to search him and a smoking pipe with “burnt residue” in the glass pipe was found.

Ray remained in the county jail Wednesday night on a $4,000 property bond, and Green was still in custody on a $2,500 property bond.