Hardware hacker George "GeoHot" Hotz was arrested in Texas on his way to speak at SXSW, and it had nothing to do with his famous jailbreaks of the PlayStation 3 and the iPhone.
Hotz, 22, was stopped by Homeland Security at a border cross in the small West Texas town of Sierra Blanca, and a sniff by drug dogs revealed that he was in possession of 1/4 oz. of marijuana, along with a package of chocolates fortified with less than 1/8 oz. of weed.
GeoHot has a California prescription for medical marijuana, and the DHS officers turned him over to the local sheriffs, who were supposed to give him a citation.
Unfortunately for the young hacker, the sheriff's office decided to measure the weight of the chocolates, instead of just the marijuana contained within. That bumped the estimated street value of the stash from $15 to $800 -- enough to qualify for a felony.
Hotz was reportedly released on $1,500 bail, and hasn't yet commented on the situation.
Incidentally, he's not the most famous figure to be busted for pot at that same checkpoint: Willie Nelson, actor Armie Hammer and rapper Snoop Dogg have all allegedly been found with the sticky green by Sierra Blanca Homeland Security agents.
[escapist]
