Man Told Cops Drug Stash Was "Yard Clippings"

JULY 10--When cops pulled over his SUV and located a large plastic bag filled with a pound’s worth of a “green leafy substance,” Jayson Curtiss scrambled to explain away the incriminating discovery.

“I am a licensed dealer of that,” Curtiss first said.

“It is for aroma therapy,” he then claimed.

Finally, the 38-year-old Floridian floated a third explanation:

“It’s my yard clippings,” he said.

A Clearwater cop, however, was not buying Curtiss’s various claims, especially since the green material was consistent with “Spice,” or synthetic marijuana.

The substance was seized during the April traffic stop and subsequently sent to the Pinellas County Forensics Laboratory for analysis. In June, lab results showed that the green material tested positive for XLR-11, a synthetic cannabinoid that has been illegal in Florida for more than two years.

In light of his alleged possession of the controlled substance, Curtiss was arrested late last month and charged with a variety of felony narcotics counts. He is locked up in the Pinellas County jail in lieu of nearly $60,000 bond.

Pictured in the above mug shot, Curtiss was also charged with violating terms of his pretrial release in a pending domestic violence case. His rap sheet includes prior collars for cocaine possession and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. (1 page)