Watts principal ordered to trial on drug charges

JAY, Okla. (AP) -- The principal of Watts High School has been ordered to stand trial for cultivation of marijuana.

Joe Weaver, 47, was bound over for trial on Thursday following a preliminary hearing before Special District Judge Alicia Littlefield. Littlefield found sufficient evidence against Weaver but dropped a felony cultivation charge against Weaver's wife, Carolyn Weaver, 49, an Afton teacher.

Prosecutors said they will appeal the ruling regarding Mrs. Weaver. She still faces two misdemeanor counts for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The Weavers have been suspended with pay from their school positions.

The Weavers and their nephew, Shane Weaver, were arrested Aug. 27 after Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control agents notified the Delaware County Sheriff's Office that marijuana was growing behind the couple's rural Afton home.

Drug agents said the 8-foot-high plant was tied to a shed behind the Weaver's residence with men's dress socks, the same type of socks found in the home. The marijuana plant was 157 yards from the residence but agents said it obviously had been watered because the vegetation around it was dry or dead.

Testimony by Danny Green, a detective with the Miami Police Department, revealed that during a search of the Weavers' residence, officers discovered marijuana in the couple's bedroom.

Prosecutors filed additional charges against Shane Weaver last month, including possession of a controlled dangerous substance (marijuana, second offense), cultivation of a controlled dangerous substance (marijuana) and possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony, court documents show. His preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 16 During a search of his residence, officers found a rifle, smoking pipes, rolling papers and marijuana plants growing, officials said.

Each of the Weavers are free on $11,000 bail.