ELKHART — A man was arrested Wednesday, Feb. 6, on preliminary charges of possession of marijuana and possession of a weapon by a serious violent felon.

Gary Pletcher, 45, of Goshen, was arrested on a criminal warrant for possession of marijuana at his residence around 3:30 a.m.

Two small children were removed from the residence and into the custody of his mother, according to a report from the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department.

During a search warrant, police found at least four rifles, what seemed like synthetic marijuana and paraphernalia, according to the probable cause affidavit for pletcher’s case.

After Pletcher had waived his Miranda rights, he told police he was a convicted serious violent felon, and that he had killed someone about 20 years ago.

In 1988, Pletcher was convicted of manslaughter in connection with the death of Lawrence Bailey, a 44-year-old Goshen man. Bailey was found dead on April 11, 1988, in Syracuse. About a week later, Pletcher was arrested and confessed he had shot Bailey after the victim had been making “sexual advances toward him,” according to court files.

Since 2002, Pletcher has been arrested multiple times in Elkhart County for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, according to the jail website. He has a pending case in Elkhart Superior Court 4 for possession of marijuana.