Former Austin ISD PE teacher faces felony drug charges
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man who had worked as a PE teacher in Austin ISD for five years was arrested in December and accused of having drugs he intended to distribute, according to Travis County court records.
Drugs found in the man's car during a traffic stop in December included Adderall as well as smaller amounts of cocaine, alprazolam and MDMA, according to an arrest affidavit.
Abraham Allen Ligon faces a Possession of a Controlled Substance in group 1/1-B of between 1-4 grams and a Manufacturing or Delivering a Controlled Substance in group 2 of between 4-400 grams. He also faces a misdemeanor unlawful carrying of a weapon charge.
A spokesperson for AISD said Ligon is no longer employed with the district and "resigned a couple months ago." The district did not immediately provide any further information. KXAN will update this story when we get additional insight.
KXAN has also reached out to Ligon's attorney, and will update this story when we receive a response.
On the night of Dec. 20, 2022, a Manor police officer said he saw a truck with expired plates driving slower than the speed limit, abruptly change lanes and exhibit "nervous driving behavior... appearing as if the driver is attempting to distance and separate himself from law enforcement and avoid being stopped," according to an affidavit.
The officer said the truck then drove into a fast-food restaurant parking lot, and when the officer turned on his lights, he said the driver got out of the car with his hands up and started lying on the ground.
"Throughout my career in law enforcement, I have never observed a driver to immediately prone themselves out without instruction upon being stopped," the officer noted. The man, later identified as Ligon, told the officer he "grew up" being told to do this and was also told to do it in a class. He told the officer he had a gun in his car.
The man told the officer he could look in his car and, in addition to two loaded handguns, the officer found small, clear plastic baggies "commonly and typically used to package narcotics" and a black baggie "that contained a large amount of orange powder at the bottom, consistent with the remains of a large quantity of pills having been packaged together." They also found a gallon-sized freezer bag with about 140 grams of orange pills inside, which police identified as Adderall, 2.7 grams of cocaine and 1.3 grams of Alprazolam and 0.7 grams of MDMA, according to an affidavit.
The man told the officer he worked as a "security guard" for people who sell narcotics, the affidavit said.
The Travis County DA rejected a misdemeanor drug possession charge for the Alprazolam in late December, and in the felony cases Ligon is scheduled for a hearing for DA Monitored PreTrial Diversion.
"Through this program an offender is given a chance to avoid prosecution for an offense through successful completion of a period during which there are no new arrests, and all requirements of the term are completed," according to the Travis County website. It added the Travis County District Attorney's office decides who participates in the program and they must meet certain criteria.