WACO, Texas (AP) — The superintendent of a major Central Texas public school system has been charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.
Waco Independent School District Superintendent A. Marcus Nelson was arrested late Wednesday after a state trooper said he was found with less than 2 ounces of marijuana in his possession.
Nelson was booked into the Robertson County Jail in Franklin, where jail records showed he was held overnight and released on his own recognizance Thursday morning.
The arrest happened during a routine traffic stop around 10 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. 190 about 55 miles (90 kilometers) southeast of Waco, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman said.
DPS Sgt. Jimmy Morgan said the trooper had stopped Nelson for driving in a passing lane when not passing and detected the smell of marijuana in the car. With that probable cause, the trooper searched the car and found the marijuana, Morgan said.
Nelson did not respond immediately to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Waco school board President Pat Atkins said school trustees learned of his arrest Thursday and have scheduled a March 19 special meeting to address the situation.
“We take this seriously, but we want to make sure that we have all of the facts before reaching a conclusion,” Atkins said in a statement.
The Waco Independent School District hired Nelson as superintendent in April 2017 on a five-year contract. He had come to Waco after serving as superintendent of the Laredo Independent School District for eight years, where he was cited in 2014 as Superintendent of the Year by the Texas Association of School Boards.