OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A call from an employee at a convenience store in reference to a minivan that had been parked by one of the gas pumps, led to an arrest where the accused, Emory Manning, 40, Ocala, is being charged with 10 felonies.
Manning has been charged with armed trafficking in oxycodone, armed trafficking in hydrocodone, armed trafficking in cocaine, armed trafficking in methamphetamine, armed trafficking in MDMA, or ecstasy, grand theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, three counts. The accused is being held without bond.
An Ocala Police Department officer responded to a call at 11:19 p.m. Aug. 25, at the Sunshine Food Mart on NE 25th Ave. The call came from an employee that a dark-colored minivan had been sitting out near one of the gas pumps for hours, and he was afraid he might be robbed.
While on the way to the location, the officer was informed that the employee had turned off the lights and locked the doors to the establishment. When the officer arrived at the site, he observed the minivan parked near the gas pump, pulled up behind the vehicle and activated his takedown lights as a visual signal to alert the occupants of the vehicle.
Sound Sleeper
The officer exited his vehicle approaching the minivan on the passenger side, and noticed the only occupant was the driver. The accused was asleep in the driver’s seat. Law enforcement knocked on the front passenger seat until the alleged woke from his slumber.
The officer informed the accused of who he was and asked him to roll down the window. However, it was when the alleged was attempting to open the window, that authorities noticed liquor bottles in the back seat and a blue colored bag on the floorboard raising suspicion.
Another officer would arrive on the scene and would go to the driver’s side door. The accused wasn’t able to roll down the window, so he had to open the driver’s side door. It was then, the officer on the passenger’s side, came to the driver’s side to speak with the alleged.
Casual Conversation
As the officers were gathering information on the accused, the alleged remarked how he had a long day, and fell asleep in the vehicle.
While the officer was talking with the accused, he noticed a dose of Narcan in the bottom of the vehicle’s driver’s door compartment. The officer’s vigilant eye also observed in the compartment below the armrest of the driver’s door, a wad of cash as well as a clear plastic baggie that had a crystal-like substance inside.
It was then he asked the accused to step out of the vehicle, detaining him with handcuffs, explaining to the alleged why he was doing so.
What’s in the Bag?
When the officer went to retrieve the baggie, he noticed two others like it. It was also at that time that he noticed the blue bag on the floorboard to be unzipped, observing an orange pill container, with a clear plastic baggie that contained a substance. The substance was field tested and yielded a positive result for methamphetamine. The officer checked the blue bag and found various amounts of other narcotics, crystal-like substances, white powdered substances, white rock-like substances, various pills and a 9mm sidearm that was wrapped in a blanket.
The sidearm, narcotics found in the door and the blue bag, and its contents were transported to OPD. The narcotics in the bag were in different sizes, unlabeled and in orange pill containers. Authorities also found multiple wads of cash held together by rubber bands, and all in $20 bills. The cash inside the door and bag amounted to $3,144. 10. Authorities also found a functioning scale, a bag of rubber bands and clear plastic bags. Also found was a container with razor blades, as if they were used to break up the narcotics.