We Have Lost Our Common Sense--Good Kid Arrested For Having Fishing Knives In His Car

Georgia High School Student Charged With Felony For Bringing Deadly Tackle Box To School

October 3, 2013 by Sam Rolley 

A Georgia high school student has been charged with a felony for carrying fishing supplies to school in his car.

In September, law enforcement officials in preformed a K-9 search of the parking lot at Lassiter High School in Georgia. According to a report in the Marietta Daily Journal, a dog became interested a 1998 BMW 328i belonging to 17-year-old senior Cody Chitwood when it picked up the smell of black powder from firecrackers in the student’s trunk.

The dog’s hit gave officers probable cause to perform a thorough search of the vehicle, which turned up scary, deadly… fishing supplies.

Via the Marietta Daily Journal:

They found four knives, all of them with blades of at least 2.5 inches, according to the arrest warrant. Three of them, including a fillet knife and a spring-assisted knife, were inside his tackle box in the trunk. A butterfly knife was found inside the pocket of the driver’s side door.

“I enjoy fishing. I go fishing probably once a week, sometimes twice a week,” said Chitwood, who has been suspended for 10 days by Lassiter Principal Chris Richie. “I just forgot that it was in there. I had my fishing poles in the car, too.”

In Georgia, the charge of carrying a weapon in a school safety zone is a felony offense. Chitwood was allowed to turn himself in rather than be arrested on the spot. He did so on Sept. 18 and was released later the same day after posting bond of $1,000 plus $320 in fees.

The student said that officers found no other contraband or drugs in his vehicle, and that he has had no previous run-ins with the law.

The student said that he and his parents agree that the charges are “absolutely ridiculous” and he plans to fight them so that he can realize his dream of joining the Air Force upon graduation.

“I have an attorney and I’m hoping to get the felony dropped so I can still get in the Air Force,” he told the local newspaper.