Arrested man briefly escapes, is rearrested

A Bloomington man was arrested Saturday for possession of synthetic cannabis, as well as a controlled substance that the Bloomington Police Department said they believe to be Lortab tablets stolen from his grandmother.

The arrest came after police investigated a report that a man was sleeping outside the Garden of Eden adult entertainment store, Sgt. Joe Crider of BPD said.
The man had been there for at least two hours.

Arriving at the store, officers found James Stewart, 32, asleep in his green Chevrolet truck, Crider said. The officers then woke Stewart and handcuffed him.

In the passenger seat, officers found the synthetic cannabis known as K2 and the bottle of Lortab tablets. Stewart was then arrested and transported to the Monroe County Jail, Crider said.

Once there, he was seated on a bench in the intake area. A side door was open at the time, and seeing this, Stewart tried to escape.

A brief foot pursuit ensued, Crider said, and the man was apprehended at the corner of Seventh and Morton streets.

The jail is located at Seventh Street and College Avenue, less than a block away.
Stewart faces preliminary charges of possession of a controlled substance, a Class D felony, possession of synthetic cannabis, a Class A misdemeanor, and escape,
a Class C felony.

— Jake New