Pair arrested in MoCo courthouse drug deal

This week in stupid (OK, actually last week in stupid) we have the story of the Conroe woman who needed money to pay a traffic ticket, so she allegedly sold some crystal meth to a nearby man Thursday — while both of them were standing in line at a Montgomery County courthouse.

Police say Deana Ayres, 25, sold ice methamphetamine to Charles "Bubba" Groze Jr., 40, of New Caney while she was waiting to talk to an assisant DA about her ticket. Deputies overheard their conversation and confroned Ayres, who admitted selling the drugs and fingered Groze as her customer. "She told us she needed money to pay her tickets," Precinct 4 Chief Deputy Harvey Moody told the Courier. Groze tried to get off the hook, telling police Ayres was selling meth, but he didn't buy any. We don't think they bought his story.

Ayres and Groze were arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, for which they could face two year jail terms and $10,000 fines. Neither was what you'd call an upstanding citizen: Ayres had a previous conviction for theft, while Groze had been convicted of marijuana possession. And it turned out Ayres didn't even need to worry about paying her ticket: "We always work with people," Precinc 4 Justice of the Peace James Metts said. "We have payment plans when necessary."