Florida man with bogus bladder trying to beat drug test busted pulling up to court-ordered drug class: FCSO
A Florida man who was on his way to a court-ordered drug class is accused of having a fake bladder to try to pass a drug test. Image is courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
PALM COAST, Fla. - A 52-year-old Palm Coast man serving probation for multiple burglaries and thefts faces a slew of new charges after deputies caught him arriving for a court-ordered drug test with a concealed device designed to fake his urine sample.
Flagler County deputy traffic stop
What we know:
On Tuesday, July 14, a Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputy stopped 52-year-old James Shepard as he pulled up to his court-ordered drug class. Deputies arrested him after discovering he drove to the facility on a suspended license, violating his felony probation.
Once in custody, deputies said they found a device strapped to his groin designed to falsify drug tests. The device included a heating pad, fake urine, and an artificial tube designed to pass off the sample during testing.
Inmate patrol car evidence
What we don't know:
Officials have not confirmed whether Shepard used the artificial device during previous court-ordered drug screenings.
Sheriff Rick Staly statement
What they're saying:
While he was being taken to the jail, deputies said Shepard complained of shoulder pain, prompting the deputy to move his handcuffs to the front of his body. Investigators said Shepard used his freed hands to pull the concealed apparatus from his pants and drop it onto the floorboard of the patrol car, later claiming it did not belong to him.
"This pee-brain dirtbag had already been given the deal of a lifetime, walking around on community control when he should have been sitting in a prison cell for almost a decade," Sheriff Rick Staly said. "Shepard terrorized our home construction businesses and had stolen enough appliances to open an appliance store but was only sentenced to community control when his own sentencing scoresheet had him eligible for a minimum of nine years in prison. Now he has a stream of new charges after flushing away a second chance to turn his life around. Instead, he tried to trick the system. Now he needs to go to prison!"
Detention facility jail booking
What's next:
Deputies booked Shepard into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he remains held on no bond.
He faces charges of driving without a valid license, violating his probation, defrauding a drug test, and tampering with evidence.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, which detailed the arrest, charges, and footage captured on the deputy's in-car camera, as well as a public statement provided by Sheriff Rick Staly.