A Ringgold man and two of his buddies were arrested in Fort Oglethorpe late Monday night, Feb. 4 after the trio was allegedly traveling erratically down Battlefield Parkway and threw a bag of marijuana out the window once they discovered police were after them, police said.

According to the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department:

Steven Brien Heberer, 22, of Ringgold, Robert Edward Williams, 22, of Chattanooga, and Sebastian Allister Gray, 20, of Hixson, Tenn., were all arrested Feb. 4 for possession of marijuana (less than an ounce). All three men have been released from jail on bond.

The incident began around 10:40 p.m. when an officer overheard a commotion taking place in the Panera Bread parking lot at 2620 Ga. 2 (Battlefield Parkway).

“While running radar on Battlefield Parkway in front of Panera Bread, I heard a male voice yell a cuss word and order someone to get into the back seat,” Lt. John McGrath said. “I then observed a male getting into a Ford Explorer on the lot and speed out of lot in a reckless manner.”

Lt. McGrath pursued the vehicle as it began traveling east along Battlefield Parkway. He then called in the vehicle’s tag number to dispatch and initiated a traffic stop, reports show.

“As the vehicle went towards the center of the roadway, the interior lights came on,” McGrath said. “The vehicle then went through the intersection at Dietz Road, at which time I turned my blue lights on to stop the vehicle. While the vehicle started to change lanes, I observed something come out of the passenger side window.”

The vehicle eventually stopped, at which time another police unit was dispatched to the scene to assist while the item thrown from the vehicle was recovered, reports show.

“When I went back to the location where the item was thrown from the vehicle, I located a clear plastic baggy containing a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana,” McGrath said.

The three men in the vehicle then began denying any knowledge of the marijuana in question.

“The driver, Mr. Williams, when first asked about the marijuana, acted like he had no idea about it,” McGrath said. “He then stated that it was indeed his, but would not and could not explain how it got thrown out of the passenger side of the vehicle.”

Gray was traveling in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, while Brien Heberer was riding in the back seat, reports show.

“Mr. Gray stated that he did not smoke marijuana, and Mr. Heberer asked ‘what marijuana’ then stated there was no marijuana in the vehicle and added that he had no idea who threw anything out because he was smoking a cigarette.”

All three offenders were placed under arrest and taken into custody, and the evidence was turned over to officer Robert Goolsby, who was also at the scene, reports show.

In addition to the three offenders, Williams’ pit bull dog was also in the back seat of the vehicle during the incident. The dog was turned over to Williams’ father, who was listed as the owner of the Explorer the trio was traveling in.

Brien Heberer made headlines in December 2009 when, according to police, he and two other teenagers orchestrated a break-in and multiple vehicle thefts from the Ringgold Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership on Nashville Street.

During that incident, the then-19-year-old and two different friends, stole a total of four vehicles valued at $236,000, police said.

Heberer was caught and subsequently arrested after he crashed a 2009 ACR Dodge Viper into a telephone pole during a police chase.