Man jailed for felony drug charge

By PAUL STONE
The Palestine Herald

PALESTINE July 09, 2008 01:35 am

— A 24-year-old East Texas man remained in the Anderson County Jail Tuesday after being arrested over the holiday weekend for allegedly possessing a felony amount of marijuana.
As of late Tuesday morning, Joshua Daniel Mathis, 24, of Chandler was being held on the charge of possession of marijuana between 4 ounces and 5 pounds in lieu of a $15,000 bond set by Anderson County Justice of the Peace Gary Thomas.
Mathis was arrested early Saturday morning near Lake Palestine when authorities say they found slightly more than 4 ounces of marijuana in his vehicle during the course of a traffic stop.
Shortly before 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor said deputy Justin Rackley was patrolling “on FM 1892 and CR 309 in the Lake Palestine area, east of Frankston” when he observed a 1997 Ford pickup traveling “at a high rate of speed” in a 45 mile per hour zone.
Rackley got the pickup pulled over near the intersection of CR 309 and CR 310, according to the sheriff.
“He (Rackley) spotted marijuana seeds in the floorboard and smelled marijuana emitting from the vehicle,” Taylor said.
With probable cause established, the officer then searched the vehicle, according to the sheriff.
“He (Rackley) observed a backpack in the front floorboard near the floor shifter,” Taylor said. “In the backpack was located a large, clear plastic bag which appeared to contain a large amount of marijuana.”
Including packaging, the marijuana weighed 4.2 ounces, according to the sheriff.
A 17-year-old female passenger, also listing a Chandler address, was released at the scene, Taylor added.
The charge against Mathis is a state jail felony punishable by six months-to-two years in a state jail and a fine not to exceed $10,000.
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Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com