Teacher arrested on drug charges ‘appalled’ she can’t bring pot into jail, police say
An English teacher in Birmingham, Alabama, has been placed on leave and is facing felony and misdemeanor drug charges after a sequence of events so bizarre that her lawyer claims she might have been drugged during them.
On Saturday, a Birmingham police officer responded to an traffic accident, where the woman whose car had been hit told him that the other driver, Leah McCamy Sellers, was laughing and smoking “something” in her own car, according to a police report obtained by AL.com.
When the officer spoke to Sellers, she admitted to drinking that night, and the officer reported a strong scent of marijuana from the car, as well as spotting two glass pipes, several pill bottles and plastic bags filled with a “leafy green substance that resembled and smelled like marijuana,” according to WBRC.
According to court documents, Sellers was then handcuffed with her hands behind her back, but was somehow able to move her hands to her front and grab one of the glass pipes from the front of the patrol car. Police said she was attempting to tamper with the plastic bags before she was stopped.
After that, Sellers requested medical attention and was brought to the University of Alabama-Birmingham hospital. There, she refused to tell a doctor about any medical problem and instead “would only ask him to get me to release her,” according to the arresting officer.
Finally, the officer brought Sellers to the city jail, where she boasted about the amount of the marijuana in the bags and “was appalled that I was not bringing it in the jail with us,” the officer said in court records.
Sellers was released from jail Sunday after posting bail and faces charges of possessing marijuana not for personal use, tampering with evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Birmingham police department confirmed the accuracy of AL.com’s report to McClatchy.
“We're going to ask the public to not rush to judgement on the case. We are investigating the possibility she was drugged the night in question,'' Sellers’ attorney, Joe Basgier said to AL.com in a statement. "This is a great teacher who is well respected by her co-employees and the administration."
ABC 33 confirmed that Sellers has been placed on paid administrative leave by the Jefferson County school system.
This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Teacher arrested on drug charges ‘appalled’ she can’t bring pot into jail, police say."