A Man Gets Arrested After Calling the Police For a Ride
Pictured: 22-year-old Matthew Leatham’s mugshot
There might be a time in your life when you’re in desperate need of a ride. Maybe your car broke down or you missed the bus. It’s important to know who to call for a ride so that you can get to where you need to go safely. Calling the police for an escort might sound like a good idea at the time, but it’s not and here’s why.
A 22 year old man in Florida, Matthew Leatham, found himself without a ride on February 3, 2021. Instead of calling a friend, family member, or looking for the closest bus stop he decided to call 911 and ask them to pick him up. When he called dispatch helped him call for a taxi. A few minutes later he called 911 again asking for a ride because he didn’t have money to pay for the taxi ride.
After the second call the police showed up to his location and instead of giving him a ride home they gave him a ride to jail. Leathman was initially arrested for misuse of the 911 system. During his arrest he was given a typical pat down and search during which the police officer found marijuana on his person.
Leatham was released on a $300 bond and it is unknown if he has to return to jail or if he is awaiting trial.
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Questions:
1. What would have happened to Leathman after his arrest if the police did not find marijuana on his person? What would the consequences be if this happened in Nevada?
2. The amount of marijuana Leathman had is unknown. What would the consequences be if he had 20 grams or less on his person? If he had 20 grams or more?
3. This case happened in Florida where only medical marijuana is legal. How would the arrest be different if it happened in Nevada where the use of marijuana is legal for anyone 18 and older?
Be sure to provide full explanations for your answers. For more details, you can read the article this piece was sourced from here:
https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/matthew-leatham-florida-man-with-face-tattoo-calls-911-for-ride
Contributed by Saralynn Lindsay
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