Two Newton County special education teachers were arrested for possession of marijuana after an off-duty officer reportedly saw the duo using drugs last Friday in a vehicle parked in the Covington Corners parking lot after they left school following field day activities.

According to reports, an off-duty officer from the Loganville Police Department parked next to a white Lexus with two women inside and the women were allegedly doing "some type of drugs." While the officers were en route, the off-duty officer reportedly informed dispatch that the ladies were in front of Farmer’s Furniture and attempting to leave the parking lot.

When officers from the Covington Police Department arrived, the Lexus was allegedly pulling into a parking space in front of Citi Trends. The officers pulled their patrol cars behind and in front of the Lexus, blocking it in. According to reports, it appeared the driver and passenger both attempted to exit the vehicle and walk away, but officers arrived and asked both ladies to return to the vehicle.

When the officers walked up to the car they reportedly noticed the smell of burnt marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and asked the driver, 31-year-old Makeisha Marshall, and the passenger, 32-year-old Michelle Goodall, both teachers at Indian Creek Middle School, if they had been smoking marijuana in the vehicle while parked in the shopping center.

Both women reportedly stated that they had just put someone out of the vehicle that had been smoking marijuana in it. They were advised that the off-duty officer had watched them doing drugs and officers asked the women if they could search their purses. Inside of Goodall’s purse officers reportedly found a pack of rolling papers. When asked where the marijuana was in the vehicle, both women allegedly told the officers they had no marijuana in the vehicle.

The vehicle was registered in Marshall’s name and officers asked for permission to search it, which she reportedly gave, but made sure to state that she had just purchased the Lexus and she did not know what was in it. However, when officers checked her insurance card it showed that insurance for the vehicle was purchased in January 2009.

While searching the vehicle, an officer reportedly located a mixed drink with ice in a plastic cup in the cup holder and in the console they allegedly found a partially burnt cigarette with a green leafy substance, believed to be marijuana, inside it. They also located a pill bottle where Marshall had been prescribed Xanax and inside of the bottle were three pills and some suspected marijuana.

Both women were asked once more who the marijuana belonged to and they both allegedly told officers they didn’t know. Both were placed under arrest for possession of marijuana less than 1 ounce.

Both were placed in patrol cars and asked individually who the mixed drink belonged to. Both denied ownership of the drink, but Goodall reportedly told officers that it couldn’t be hers because the cup had no lipstick on it and she was wearing lipstick. Both were asked to blow into the alco-sensor and Marshall registered positive for alcohol and was additionally charged with open container.

According to Newton County School System Director of Public Relations Sherri Viniard, both teachers resigned their positions at Indian Creek effective immediately and the incident was reported to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, an organization that issues and can revoke teaching certificates.