Cop's nose leads to drug arrest in his yard
Staff writer
New Hillsboro Police officer Randy Brazil is accustomed to looking for criminals. He’s just not accustomed to finding them in his backyard.
“His yard is almost like an oasis in the middle of town,” Police Chief Dan Kinning said. “He has several acres with a pond surrounded by trees.”
At approximately 7 p.m. Sept. 26, Brazil was returning from an after-dinner walk with his wife when, Kinning said, he smelled a strong odor of marijuana and heard voices coming from behind some bushes on the north side of his property.
Off duty and out of uniform, Brazil investigated. Kinning said Brazil discovered two men sitting in lawn chairs.
“He walked right up to them and asked them what they were doing,” Kinning said. “They didn’t respond.”
Reportedly surprised when Brazil told them he was a police officer, Brazil allegedly noticed a marijuana cigarette sitting on one of the chairs when they stood up.
“He said he told them they picked the wrong property to do that on,” Kinning said. “Then he asked them to follow him to his garage where he radioed on-duty officer David Funk.”
Lucas Itapa Mattos, 21, Hillsboro, was arrested on suspicion of possession of approximately 1 gram of marijuana.
A Lucas Mattos is listed on a 2016-2017 soccer roster on the Tabor College website.
Kinning said the other man was not arrested or charged with anything because he allegedly had nothing illegal in his possession.
Last modified Oct. 6, 2016