Police: Prosecutor dropped joint in court

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NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A New Orleans prosecutor faces a marijuana possession charge after he allegedly dropped a joint while talking to a police officer in a courtroom.

The New Orleans Police Department said Jason Cantrell, 43, the son of Magistrate Commissioner Harry Cantrell, was talking to an officer inside Orleans Parish magistrate court Monday when a marijuana cigarette fell from his pocket and landed on the floor in front of the officer, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Thursday.

Police spokesman Officer Garry Flot said Cantrell, who unsuccessfully ran for a juvenile court judgeship in 2009, was issued a summons for simple possession of marijuana and released.

Ryan Berni, a spokesman for Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office, said Cantrell was not acting as assistant city attorney at the time of the incident, but has been suspended pending an investigation.