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Hernando Today

Camp Counselor Fired After Drug Arrest

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: July 8, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - BROOKSVILLE - A camp counselor who worked with troubled teens was arrested on a possession of marijuana charge this weekend.
Joe Johnson Jr. was fired from his job Monday at the privately-owned Eckerd Youth Challenge following the arrest, said Tom Denham, spokesman, adding that a recent driving on a suspended license charge contributed to the termination.

A message left for Johnson, 25, of 828 Twigg St., was not returned.

The charges stem from around midnight Saturday, when Deputy William Power recognized a wanted person at the Hess Express on E. Jefferson Street.

Power approached his suspect, Ahmad Warren, and told him to stay put while he double-checked the warrants. As the deputy went back to his car, Warren walked over to a Suzuki parked at the pumps and began handing his belongings over to the vehicle's driver, Johnson, a report states.

Among the items Warren passed over to Johnson was a plastic bag holding 2.9 grams of marijuana, Power reported.

Warren was immediately handcuffed and Power demanded Johnson surrender the bag.

Johnson placed his hands behind back and denied he had anything, even as the bag of weed dropped onto the ground, Power reported.

When Power's backup arrived, Johnson was arrested. As the handcuffs clicked around his wrists, Johnson reportedly said: "I can't go to jail. I'm a juvenile probation officer." His statement was validated by an Eckerd Youth Challenge ID card on his person.

Johnson was charged with possession of marijuana under 20 grams, a misdemeanor.

Warren, 24, of 701 Wood Drive, was arrested on two violation of probation warrants and taken to jail on the same marijuana charge.

Denham said new hires are given a drug test at the beginning of their employment, but rarely after that. Johnson worked at the camp on Culbreath Road for seven months.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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