19-Year-Old with Pot Hanging Out of Shirt Pocket Caught Lying to Sheriff

By: Marie Scarci | November 18, 2022

A 19-year-old Indiana man was stopped by Porter County Sheriff’s Office after driving into oncoming traffic on Tuesday.

The officer, while talking to the man, Benjamin Mentink, notice an overwhelming odor of cannabis and could also see a baggie of the herb in the man's shirt pocket.

The Sheriff’s Deputy then began to ask the man, several times, if he had any drugs or related contraband in the vehicle, the man demanded he did not.

Now at this point, the frustrated deputy reached into the man's pocket and pulled the baggie out, which had about an ounce in it.

The driver, now realizing the mistake he had made, apologized to the officer for lying to him about the baggie of cannabis that was in plain sight.

Recreational cannabis is not legal in Indiana, and the man could receive if this is his first offense, a misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

The man narrowly avoided a potential felony for possessing the cannabis, anything over 30 grams with a prior offense could carry a penalty of up to a year in jail and fines as high as $5000.