Man arrested on drug charges while reporting unrelated crime

RINGGOLD — A Ringgold man found himself in a less-than-desirable position on Super Bowl Sunday, when he was arrested on drug charges after calling police claiming someone had thrown rocks at his vehicle.

According to the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Department:

Charles Edward Chapman Jr., 38, of Raven Lane in Ringgold, was arrested Feb. 4 on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distributed, and possession of marijuana (less than an ounce). His bond was set at $7,500.

Chapman’s strange encounter with police began just after midnight when he called in a complaint that people were following him in a vehicle and throwing rocks at his car.

When Deputy Steven Lewis arrived to the scene, Chapman claimed that he’d followed the vehicle to a residence on Baldridge Lane in Tunnel Hill after the incident.

Chapman’s twist of fortune came when he was trying to show Lewis the damage to his vehicle.

“Mr. Chapman showed me a spot on the passenger side of the vehicle,” Lewis said. “I got closer to the vehicle to examine the mark and saw that the damage did not appear to be have been recent. While I was looking at the damage, I smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.”

Lewis says when he asked about a black bag lying under the brake pedal in the driver’s side floorboard, Chapman opened the bag up revealing drug related objects.

Marijuana, plastic bags, a digital scale and methamphetamine were discovered in the bag, with similar items also found in a gray backpack inside the vehicle.

Chapman claimed the black bag belonged to the alleged rock throwers that had followed him, but did claim ownership of the backpack.

The persons at the Baldridge Lane home were questioned and stated that Chapman had shown up at the residence earlier, but had left.

Chapman was taken to jail without incident, reports show.

Adam Cook, Catoosa County News