When WPD officers responded to a loud verbal argument in Worthington on Tuesday, a man walked out of a house carrying what later turned out to be a quantity of marijuana. He ended up in jail.

Ethan Greer Hoadley, 28, Spencer, was arrested by Deputy Marshal Ryan Montgomery of the Worthington Police Department late Tuesday afternoon, December 8.

Around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday, Officer Montgomery was on patrol when he was stopped by a person who told him about a verbal argument going on between Hoadley and a woman at the woman’s residence on North Myra Street in Worthington. Officer Montgomery responded and so did WPD Town Marshal Jim O’Malley.

Officer Montgomery said when he arrived on the scene, he could hear the argument going on between the two. Hoadley allegedly told the officer that he was trying to work things out with the woman who was his ex-girlfriend and she wouldn’t give him a ride home the night before but now she had agreed to give him a ride home to Spencer.

Hoadley then exited the residence carrying a large item wrapped in a black and white cloth pillowcase. Officer Montgomery said the item made a loud noise like two glass objects were hitting each other. He walked to a blue Jeep Liberty parked in the driveway and put the item behind the driver’s seat.

When both Hoadley and the woman, who was driving the Jeep, left and headed toward Main Street, Officer Montgomery followed to make sure the argument had been resolved and was not continuing. But he noticed the brake lights were not functioning on the Jeep and he initiated a traffic stop at the intersection of Main and Dayton streets.

Officer Montgomery explained the reason for the stop but also told the driver he detected the odor of marijuana coming from the Jeep. Hoadley said they didn’t have any marijuana in the vehicle. The driver agreed to a search.

While Officer Montgomery watched Hoadley and the woman outside the vehicle, Officer O’Malley searched and located two large glass jars in the pillowcase. The jars contained a green plant material believed to be marijuana. When the contents were placed on a scale, the suspected marijuana weighed 600 grams.

Officer Montgomery noted that Hoadley has a previous conviction in Michigan in 2013 for possession of a controlled substance. Court records indicate Hoadley has a couple of other criminal cases pending against him in Monroe County.

Hoadley was booked into the Greene County Jail at 5:59 p.m.

Earlier this afternoon, Thursday, December 10, Hoadley appeared in Greene Superior Court for an initial hearing. A public defender was appointed to represent him and he was charged with possession of marijuana, with a prior drug offense conviction, a Level 6 felony. As of late Thursday afternoon, he had not yet posted bond and was still in jail.