A man surfing on the roof of a vehicle ended up behind bars after a deputy watched him toss away a bag of marijuana, the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office said.
    The driver, a woman, was charged with driving while unlicensed, while another male passenger faces marijuana charges as well, according to sheriff’s reports.
    Deputy Mark Guarino responded to Five Chop Road around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday in response to reports of “joy riders playing loud music, intoxicated driving and littering” when he spotted “something red on top of a sports utility vehicle.”
    That turned out to be Joshua Lee Freeman, 22, of Cindy Lane, who was “riding on the roof while drinking from a large beer can,” Guarino said. He watched as Freeman “threw a plastic baggie from his hand to the ground. The baggie was later recovered and found to contain a green leafy substance which I believed to be marijuana.”
    Guarino stopped the vehicle, driven by Angie Marie Watkins, who admitted driving without being licensed, he stated in reports.
    A 3-year-old child, Watkins’ and Freeman’s son, was in the rear of the vehicle, he said.
    “Speaking with the roof rider, I observed that a hand rolled cigar was lying next to his beer,” Guarino wrote in reports. “I retrieved the cigar and found that it was still warm at the burnt end and was filled with a green leafy substance which I believed to be marijuana.”
    Guarino then asked Freeman “to descend from his roof top perch and speak with me. He … explained he was listening to the engine of the truck, as he has recently had trouble with his vehicle.”
    Freeman told Guarino a passenger, Tommy Dwayne Dowd, had been “released from prison on this date and that he was along for the ride as he is his mechanic.”
    In his report, the deputy noted that Freeman was “unsteady on his feet, had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath, had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, not to mention his poor decision making abilities on this night.”
    He also noticed Dowd “making suspicious movements” inside the vehicle, so he handcuffed both him and Freeman “to each other, through the open passenger window, while Dowd sat in the vehicle and Freeman stood next to the parked truck. I did this due to the fact that I only had one pair of handcuffs with me at the time and feared that one or both would run,” Guarino stated.
    Bulloch County sheriff’s Sgt. J. Kearney arrived and assisted Guarino and told Dowd that since he was on probation, that he would possibly be asked to submit to a urine test. Upon hearing that, Dowd “took a moment, looked at Sgt. Kearney and freely advised, without question, that he had been smoking some of Freeman's marijuana shortly before I conducted the traffic stop,” Guarino wrote.
    Watkins was charged with driving without a license. A relative arrived at the scene and collected the toddler, Guarino said.
    Dowd was charged with marijuana possession, while Freeman was charged with public intoxication and marijuana possession. All three were taken to the Bulloch County Jail to await bond.
   
    Holli Deal Bragg maybe reached at (912) 489-9414.