Man calls school to retrieve pot in son's Elmo backpack
Thursday, April 08, 2010
By Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Uniontown man was arrested this morning after staff at an elementary school found marijuana in the backpack of the man's son.

Ronald J. Washington, 33, telephoned Menallen Elementary School to ask whether his son, who is in kindergarten, had arrived.

Mr. Washington told school officials that he needed to retrieve something from his son's blue Elmo backpack.

State police said the school staff was suspicious and searched the book bag, where they found two clear plastic bags of marijuana.

State police were summoned and determined the bags contained 105 grams of pot.

After Mr. Washington arrived outside the school, the troopers confronted him.

Mr. Washington told the troopers, "It was something dumb."

Mr. Washington was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana, possession with intent to deliver the drug and disorderly conduct.

He was being held in the Fayette County Jail on $100,000 bail, pending a preliminary hearing at 9:30 a.m. April 14 before District Judge Joseph M. George Jr. in Uniontown.