GATESVILLE (November 3, 2009)-Gatesville police units on Monday afternoon, aided by deputies from the Coryell County Sheriff's Department and a helicopter from the Texas Department of Public Safety, discovered marijuana growing in the back yard of a home close to Gatesville High School and arrested the resident.

Gatesville Police Chief Nathan Gohlke told News 10 police were acting on an anonymous tip and had requested the DPS helicopter to fly over parts of the city and Coryell County in an effort to locate marijuana growing in the area.

While flying over the city - just blocks away from the main entrance of Gatesville High School - deputies were able to identify a marijuana plant growing in the yard behind the house in the 100 block of Elm St.

Deputies watched from the air as the resident of the house ran into the yard and cut the plant down in an effort to conceal it, then the man fled the scene in a vehicle.

Subsequently officers arrested David Don Bradley, 30, after he was stopped several blocks away from the house.

A search of Bradley's vehicle revealed a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Officers searched Bradley's property and discovered one six-and-a-half foot marijuana plant growing in the yard and one that had been cut and was drying, as well as other marijuana inside the house.

Bradley was charged with possession of marijuana more than four ounces but less than five pounds in a drug-free zone, a 3rd Degree Felony.

The charge results from the fact that Bradley's house is within 1000 feet of a school.

Agents from both Gatesville police and Coryell County are continuing to investigate the incident and police say more arrests are possible.