An indictment issued Thursday by a Bowie County grand jury accuses a Linden, Texas, man of having a methamphetamine-filled syringe in a car where four unrestrained children were riding in January.
William Green, 35, was stopped Jan. 13 as he drove a black Dodge Ram 1500 truck northbound on Highway 59 in Bowie County, according to a probable cause affiadvit. The Bowie County Sheriff’s Office deputy who pulled Green over observed as a small package was tossed out the front passenger window.
“Green appeared to be very nervous, to the point that he was shaking,” the affidavit states.
Green asked to speak privately with the deputy and the two of them walked to the front of the patrol car. Green claimed he was a police informant and asked to be let go without a ticket.
“I noticed that he had slurred speech and was acting if he were trying to talk quietly,” the affidavit states.
After putting Green in cuffs and seating him on the ground, the deputy spoke to the only other adult in the vehicle. The adult passenger allegedly said Green threw something out the window after telling him to roll it down. When the deputy walked back to where Green was sitting, he spotted a small plastic baggy containing suspected methamphetamine that appeared to have been chewed on and covered in spit. Green denied the drugs were his.
Near the area where the deputy saw the package fly out of the truck, officers found a bag of marijuana. Green continued to maintain no knowledge of the illegal drugs, blaming his adult passenger. But fresh needle marks allegedly seen and an impression on Green’s arm which appeared to have been left when a strap was tied around it made the deputy suspect the drugs belonged to Green.
Officers found two syringes wrapped in a Sonic apron inside the truck’s glove compartment. A syringe containing suspected methamphetamine was found lying on its end, with the needle pointed up, on the truck’s “transmission hump,” the affidavit states.
“There was a child seated in this area of the vehicle and his legs were hanging down beside where the syringe was located,” the affidavit states.
The substance in the saliva-covered baggy and the substance in the syringe were positive for meth when field tested. The mother of the children, whom Green allegedly said was just finishing a shift at a Sonic, was called to collect the four youth in the car, ages 8 years, 3 years, 2 years and 1years old. Child Protective Services was alerted to the situation also, the affidavit states.
Green was indicted Thursday for possession of a controlled substance and for endangering a child with criminal negligence. He faces six months to two years in a state jail on each offense if convicted.
