A driver stopped by police for not wearing a seatbelt seemed overly nervous. His behavior was explained, according to police, when he started pulling marijuana from his mouth.

Court documents state on April 18 about 7:30 p.m. Alva Police Officer William Shahan was on patrol when he saw a vehicle at 11th and Thunderbird Road with the driver not wearing a seatbelt. He conducted a traffic stop and spoke to the driver whom he recognized as Jesse Harris.

As Harris pulled out his wallet to retrieve his driver’s license, Shahan could see his hands and his whole body shaking. Shahan could also smell an odor he recognized as raw marijuana. He asked Harris to have a seat in his patrol vehicle.

Shahan explained about smelling a strong odor of marijuana, and Harris said he ate it. He began pulling pieces of marijuana out of his mouth. Shahan had him place the marijuana on his shorts.

Shahan asked if there was more marijuana in the vehicle, and Harris said no. Shahan said he could smell a strong odor of marijuana from the vehicle and believed there was more. Harris said he had two ounces under the driver’s seat but he wasn’t selling it. Shahan requested backup to assist him.

A day earlier while interviewing an individual with Officer John Caviness, Shahan remembered they were told Harris was selling marijuana for another individual in Alva.

Shahan read Harris his Miranda Rights. He asked Harris where he got the marijuana, and he said from Oklahoma City. Shahan asked why he volunteered that he was not selling marijuana, and Harris said it was because he had so much in the vehicle.

Officers Kris Franta and Caviness arrived to assist. During a search of the vehicle, Shahan located a McDonald’s hamburger box under the driver’s seat. Inside he located two clear sandwich-type bags containing a green leafy substance which later tested positive for marijuana. The total weight of the two bags was two ounces.

During the search of the vehicle, an officer observed Harris texting on his cellphone. The phone was taken from him and placed on the car hood. After the search, Shahan asked Harris whom he was texting, and he said his coach. When Shahan asked to look at his phone, Harris said no and he wanted a lawyer.

Harris was taken to the Woods County Jail where he was booked in. The iPhone belonging to Harris and the marijuana were seized as evidence.

Jesse Glen Harris, 20, of Paden, Oklahoma, has been charged with misdemeanors of possession of controlled dangerous substance (marijuana) and destroying evidence. Each of the charges is punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year and a fine not exceeding $1,000.