Cops: Man steals pot from police because ‘it smelled so good’

By Andrew Mach, NBC News

A man in Pennsylvania who was arrested Saturday for allegedly stealing a bag of marijuana from a police station says he did so because he couldn’t resist the drug’s aroma.

Police arrested David Allan Thompson, 27, for stealing a bag of pot that had been seized as evidence from the Charleroi Regional police department, according to the Observer-Reporter.

He reportedly stopped at the police station at about 8 p.m. Saturday to offer information to Officer David Kimball about an unspecified case, according to a police affidavit filed with District Judge Jay Weller.
Kimball noted in the police report that at one point during their conversation, Thompson followed Kimball into a patrol room where the weed was sitting on a counter. Kimball then escorted Thompson back to the original room. After Thompson left the station, Kimball went back into the patrol room and noticed the bag of pot was gone.

Kimball searched the desk and asked other officers about the evidence but found no trace of the weed. Another officer tracked Thompson down outside the police station, asking him, “What did you do with the weed?”

Thompson held out his left hand and placed the bag in the officer’s hand, according to the affidavit. Police arrested Thompson and said they also found a suspected marijuana pipe in his pocket.
Police said that back at the station, Thompson apologized repeatedly, telling police, “I just couldn’t help myself. That bud smelled so good.” He also reportedly told police he couldn’t believe he was in trouble for “taking a little bit of weed,” especially since he had stopped by to give them information.

The police affidavit didn’t specify what help Thompson intended to provide police.

Thompson was arraigned before Weller on charges of theft, receiving stolen property, tampering with or fabricating evidence, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He is scheduled to appear in district court on August 23. Online court records list no attorney for him.