When getting arrested, under no circumstances should one try to bribe their way out of punishment. Typically, this will only exacerbate the situation—especially if you’re offering the arresting officer illicit substances. While this might seem like a relative no-brainer, apparently it isn’t for everyone. We are reminded of this as a man tries to bribe police officer with weed.

I Scratch Your Back You Scratch Mine

According to The Times-Tribune, 35-year-old Matthew Byron tried to get out of a DUI charge on Christmas night by offering a Scranton officer weed.

Needless to say, the policeman didn’t go for the unofficial plea deal.

Byron now faces felony charges of bribery, and misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. A preliminary hearing was originally set for Thursday, before being rescheduled to March 29th.

Police were initially called for a disturbance, where they found Byron asleep at the wheel of his SUV, with the front wheels of the vehicle hanging over a cement barrier. The police knocked on the driver side window to wake up the snoozing driver and ordered Byron to open the door.

When he complied with the officer’s request, the vehicle exhumed a strong odor of alcohol and Byron stumbled out of the car, and at one point, almost falling over in a drunken stupor.He also proclaimed he knew one of the arresting officers, Patrolman Kyle Gilmartin, from high school. The officer vehemently disagreed.

Byron, who police believed was far too inebriated to adequately perform a roadside sobriety test, was ordered to sit in the back seat of the patrol car, where they would proceed to take him to booking. It was there that the intoxicated Byron began bargaining for his freedom.

Gilmartin warned the man to stop bribing him, but Byron continued to press the issue.

“Come on, bro,” Byron said to Gilmartin. “I’ll give you money or get you weed and we can smoke together, whatever you want, just let me go.”

Following the arrest, police officers also found a small bag of marijuana in the arrestee’s car. He was held on $5,000 bail, before being bonded out.

Final Hit: Man Tries To Bribe Police Officer With Weed

Clearly, Matthew Byron wasn’t in the correct mindstate to adequately process the implications of his actions. Had Byron not ‘bribed’ his arresting officer, he would’ve still been in hot water, considering his impairment, but he wouldn’t have had an additional felony charge on his rap sheet, either.

Either way, Byron learned a valuable lesson in the ordeal— do not drink and drive.