Police: Pa. man dragged after buying mulch not marijuana

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Police say a man dragged by a car in a suburban Pittsburgh shopping mall parking lot wasn’t involved in a road rage dispute as first reported, but was instead mad because he had just paid $2,000 for a half-pound of mulch he had been told was marijuana.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for 19-year-old Andrew Kaltenbaugh, of Richland Township, who is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia in the incident outside the Ross Park Mall on July 18.

Ross Township police charged 18-year-old Brian Fish and an unnamed juvenile with aggravated assault for dragging Kaltenbaugh with their car after he confronted them about the bogus pot. Fish’s attorney didn’t immediately return a call today.

Police say the men initially told police the dispute involved road rage.