Wanted man speeding through Construction Zone found with 4 kilograms of Cannabis

Driver in Texas charged after travelling 130 km/h (81mi/h) in a 97 km/h zone (60mi/h).

A wanted man in Texas must have decided to throw caution to the wind when he opted to speed through a highway construction zone while carrying cannabis. Predictably, Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office (TGCSO) corporal conducting traffic control at a work zone on Highway 87 stopped the driver on Aug. 4 after he was allegedly clocked at 130 kilometres/hour in the 97 km/h work zone.

There were workers present when the driver made his way through the zone, notes an incident report from the TGCSO.

Upon stopping the speedster, it was determined the driver was wanted in Ector County, Tex. The man was arrested and over the course of the ensuing investigation, the corporal located and seized just over four kilograms of cannabis and $1,806 in cash. Recreational cannabis is illegal in Texas, per the Texas State Law Library. “In addition to criminal penalties, illegal use of cannabis may affect other aspects of a person’s life. For example, employment or release on probation or parole may depend upon abstaining from controlled substances,” the information notes.

Possessing 113 grams to 2.3 kilograms of cannabis in the state is a felony charge punishable by 180 days to two years of incarceration as well as a $12,900 fine upon conviction, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). The next highest amount for weed-related possession, namely 2.3 kilograms to 22.7 kilograms, carries a maximum penalty of two to 10 years in prison and a $12,900 fine, NORML reports.

Following the recent incident, the driver was charged with the latter offence and failing to appear on manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance of greater than 400 grams, TGCSO reports. The stop in Texas clearly shows how speeding can get a person noticed, but the driver’s pace was far from a record. Earlier this summer, a driver in Saskatchewan who tested positive for THC received a $1,011 fine and a 60-day licence suspension for travelling 169 km/h in a 100 km/h zone.

This past January in Minnesota, a man apparently thought it best to fess up to the illegal cannabis inside his vehicle after getting pulled over for driving 160 km/h in a 105 km/h zone. And in February of 2020, a 21-year-old female’s joyride came to an abrupt end in Tiny Township after police pulled the driver over for reaching speeds of 147 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.

The Texas case also isn’t even the first involving speeding, weed and construction zones. In the summer of 2021, a 57-year-old man in Newfoundland and Labrador was clocked at 106 km/hour speeding past an officer who was travelling through a 50 km/h construction zone. The pickup truck driver was later stopped and arrested for drug-impaired driving.