On 4-30-2013, APD COPPS (Community Oriented Policing/Problem Solving) officers developed information that a quantity of marijuana was being transported through Amarillo on a Greyhound bus that was in Amarillo. Officers had a description of one bag that contained the contraband. At the bus terminal, passengers stepped from the bus and picked up bags. One man picked up the red and black bag that was believed to contain the marijuana, along with a black backpack. Officers in plain clothes were watching the bag and began following the man that had picked it up. While following the man carrying the bag, the officers could smell the odor of marijuana. They detained the man and searched the backpack and duffle bag. Officers found that each contained a block of marijuana wrapped in clear and red plastic wrap. One weighed 17 pounds and the other weighed 7 pounds. The suspect arrested identified himself as Joshua Benjamin Coleman, black male age 18 of Detroit, Michigan. He was carrying a ticket that indicated that he was en route to Indiana from Arizona. Coleman was booked into the Potter Co. Detention Center on a charge of possession of marijuana over four but less than fifty pounds.
Last year, the Amarillo Police Department seized a total of 320 pounds of marijuana. The APD Narcotics Unit was assigned to 1794 narcotics related cases.
