i arrived home last night to find a k9 car parked diagonally and still running in front of my building. it doesn’t take long in the news business to know that usually means drugs. that’s typically what the dogs are used for.

as i walked by the stairs, i looked down and saw a man bent over. i heard an officer say, “if you stop you’ll make this easier on yourself.”

now, this kind of scene isn’t new to me. as a former police beat reporter, i’ve gone on more drug busts (and other types of busts) than i can count. but, no matter how many times you’ve seen it, it’s still intriguing. i don’t know why, but it just is. at least it is to me. maybe that’s why i’m such a good cops reporter. 🙂

i ran up the stairs, hurriedly unlocked the door and started shouting for joe. “they’re arresting someone downstairs,” i said.

joe made a beeline for our front window. we watched as the man was escorted to one of the cars, then discussed what the charge could be. we guessed which apartment it was (ironically, it is across from where one of the sheriff’s deputies lives), and discussed what the charge might be. joe, a former cops reporter here in cartersville, knows most of the officers, so he told me names of arresting officers to look for in the jail media report.

i checked the media report as soon as i got to work, and there it was. the charge was possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, which could mean several different things. it could mean just some marijuana in little baggies, or it could mean a large amount of the drug.

now, my curiousity is up. damn this reporter’s instinct!