CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) -- A court appearance for a traffic citation turned into a more serious problem for a Carlsbad teen when he dropped a marijuana joint in the courtroom.
Robin Loftin, 18, was charged with contempt of court and sentenced to two days in jail for taking the illegal substance into Judge Walter Parr's courtroom at magistrate court.
According to court records, Loftin was in court Tuesday on charges of driving with a suspended driver's license and failure to renew his vehicle registration.
After the judge entered the courtroom, Loftin removed the hat he was wearing and the marijuana joint fell from the hat onto the floor.
Parr immediately cited Loftin for contempt of court and ordered him to the Eddy County Detention Center.
The judge deferred the sentences on the traffic citations on the condition Loftin obeys all laws, clears his license and renews his vehicle registration.
This wasn't Loftin's first run in with the law due to drugs. Court records show Loftin pleaded no contest in March to possession of drug paraphernalia after an Eddy County sheriff's deputy watched him hide a marijuana pipe inside a cabinet during a party.
According to the complaint, Loftin admitted the pipe was his and said he had used it to smoke marijuana before the deputies arrived. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail for the crime.
