Florida man pulled over on lawn mower busted for meth and weed
OLD TOWN, Fla. - A Florida deputy arrested a man last week after stopping him on a red lawn mower and discovering narcotics inside a bag between his feet.
Lawn mower stop
What we know:
A deputy with the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office’s Narcotic Interdiction Unit spotted a man operating a red lawn mower southbound on NE 799th Street in Old Town on Aug. 19. Because a standard lawn mower does not meet the safety requirements to operate as a registered vehicle on state or county roadways, the deputy pulled the driver over.
The driver was identified as Roy Lee McDaniel. While speaking with McDaniel, the deputy said he smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from him, the mower, or both. According to the DCSO, McDaniel admitted he had smoked marijuana earlier and told the deputy that the items on the mower, including a gray bag positioned between his feet, belonged to him.
Drug search yields methamphetamine
By the numbers:
Deputies said they conducted a probable cause search of the bag and found marijuana, pills later identified as Clonazepam, a hypodermic needle, and a substance believed to be crystal methamphetamine. The suspected methamphetamine was tested using a TacticID device, returning a presumptive positive result for methamphetamine, according to DCSO.
McDaniel was taken into custody and transported to the Dixie County Jail without incident. He faces charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription for the Clonazepam, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Dixie County Sheriff addresses arrest
What they're saying:
The sheriff's office noted that proactive law enforcement often starts with minor traffic violations.
"Our deputies remain committed to looking beyond the initial violation, recognizing indicators of criminal activity, and keeping illegal drugs off the streets of Dixie County," the agency stated.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from a official statement and crime report provided by the Dixie County Sheriff's Office.