OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A routine traffic stop would yield far more than just a ticket thanks to the vigilance of a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy.
It may have seemed like an ordinary evening Aug. 17, but an alert deputy who was on the road stationary, conducting a traffic enforcement on another vehicle noticed a motorist not wearing his seatbelt while operating his sedan.
The accused, Andre Jerod, Roundtree, 44, Ocala, was in his vehicle traveling westbound on NW Blitchton Road. The vigilant deputy also observed that vehicle’s license plate was covered. The accused’s Sunday night would have significant consequences finding him charged with four felonies and two misdemeanors.
The deputy activated his emergency lights and initiated a traffic stop, with the accused continuing to drive, but eventually pulling over in a parking lot.
The deputy made contact with the alleged and let him know that the reason for initiating the traffic stop was because he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, which the accused readily admitted to, while at the same time, he let the deputy know he didn’t have a driver’s license.
It was while engaging the defendant that the deputy noticed the accused holding a white plastic bag between his feet. It was then that the law enforcement officer ordered the accused to exit the vehicle, and when he did, the deputy noticed a green leafy substance he recognized as marijuana. The alleged admitted to the deputy that he didn’t possess a medical marijuana card.
The observant deputy, who through his training and experience noticed several other baggies that contained what appeared to be drugs.
This led to the conducting of a probable cause search, and the deputy found a trove of plastic baggies containing narcotics in baggies that were ready to be distributed, with the baggies testing positive for fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, a broken pill testing positive for fentanyl and two unidentified broken pills.
And if that wasn’t enough, the accused who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, had $1,667 in cash, mostly in small bills, in the vehicle’s back seat.
The deputy conducted a computer check and the accused had a number of previous license suspensions. Roundtree was arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail.
Charges:
- Traffic in fentanyl four grams or more, felony
- Cocaine possession with intent to sell, manufacture, deliver, etc…schedule II, felony
- Possession of cocaine, felony
- Sale of fentanyl, felony
- Moving traffic violation, misdemeanor
- Marijuana Possession, not more than 20 grams, misdemeanor