By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
A recent attempt by an Atmore man to use his home’s plumbing to dispose of his Spice stash didn’t get the desired results. In fact, it only brought on new charges.
Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks confirmed this week that Jabarie Lawann Arnold, 41, was taken into custody September 14 after Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Region A Drug Task Force agents and city police executed a search warrant on Arnold’s Liberty Street residence.
The raid didn’t lead to the seizure of as much synthetic marijuana as was expected, because Arnold flushed an undisclosed quantity of the substance down his toilet. He didn’t quite get rid of all the evidence, though, before lawmen swarmed him inside his home’s bathroom.
The effort by Arnold, who has a lengthy record of drug arrests and a past conviction for felony possession of marijuana, brought him a charge of tampering with physical evidence (a Class A misdemeanor) on top of the other charges he already faced.
“He still had some of the Spice,” Brooks said.
Escambia County Detention Center records show that the suspect was freed on $10,000 bond two days after his arrest. He is charged with one count each of tampering, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia (scales and baggies for marketing the Spice).
The state and local lawmen also confiscated a .38-caliber handgun, leading to an additional charge against Arnold of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.