Man Allegedly Smokes Marijuana While Parked Near OKC Police Officers

Oklahoma City Police say they caught a 20-year-old man smoking marijuana in his truck, which was parked just a few spaces away from officers' motorcycles.

On February 11, the officers were eating lunch at a Braum's Restaurant on N.W. 164th Street near Penn. When they left the restaurant, they heard loud music coming from a truck in the parking lot, and smelled the odor of marijuana. The truck was parked about four spaces away from the officers' motorcycles.

When officers looked at the truck, they saw a man sitting in the driver's seat. The windows were rolled halfway down, and puffs of smoke were coming out of the windows.

As officers watched, the driver began to pull out of the parking space and drive through the lot. Police followed him, and saw the man smoking what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette. Officers pulled up beside the man while he was still in the parking lot. According to the police report, the man looked over and "immediately tried to hide and cup the cigarette into the palm" of his hand. Police said the man also had "a very shocked and scared looked on his face."

Police ordered the man, later identified as Nicholas Jerome Hanson, to hand over the cigarette, turn off his truck, and give officers his keys. Hanson complied and was placed under arrest.

Police searched Hanson's truck and found a baggie of marijuana stuffed beside the driver's seat. After notifying their superiors about the incident, police were authorized to release Hanson with a citation for possession of marijuana. A friend arrived to pick up Hanson, because police did not want him to drive. Officers confiscated nearly 8.5 grams of marijuana.